Stiff sea breeze blows away school’s electricity bill

One of Britain’s most windswept schools has taken advantage of its position on an exposed Cornish headland to reduce its electricity bills by up to 90 per cent. The Times (Friday July 25th)  reports that Gorran School, near St Austell, has attracted £55,000 in grants to install a 50ft (15m) wind turbine in a corner of its playing field. When the wind blows the turbine produces 3.5kW of power, enough to meet nearly all the 100-pupil primary school’s energy needs and to help to heat its outdoor swimming pool to a bath-like temperature. When the school is closed at night, at weekends and during holidays, or if the turbine produces more power than it needs, the surplus electricity is sold to the national grid for 10p per unit. Thirty other schools in Cornwall are hoping to install their own turbines. Matthew Oakley, the school’s head teacher, said: “Last month we reduced our electricity bill by 86 per cent. Just as important is the message that this is giving to our pupils about how important it is to be able to generate green energy, as this is the world they are going to be living in.” The project was co-ordinated by Community Energy Plus, a charity set up to promote sustainable energy, which is planning to extend the scheme to enable local communities to buy their own turbines and generate their own electricity.

See the full article at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4393262.ece