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Wray builds Colorado’s first school wind project

 

The Wray schoolhouse c.1905 (top) and today. The school district will be the first in Colorado to install a wind turbine as a way to cut operating costs while teaching students about renewable energy. (Photo by Michael Bowman)

Following the example of many small rural school districts around the country, but setting one in its home state of Colorado, Wray School District RD-2 plans to cut its annual energy costs and teach students about renewable energy by harvesting local wind resources.

Over the past few years, changes in state school finance formulas and the declining rural populations cut three quarters of a million dollars from district’s budget. To counter the shortfalls, the Wray superintendent challenged district staff to find new revenue sources, focusing on projects that could enhance education for the district’s 700 K-12 students.

Budget crunch becomes development opportunity
Jay Clapper, who teaches vocational and agricultural technology at Wray High School, saw the challenge as an opening for a long-held dream. “I’ve been talking about alternative energy in the classroom for years,” he said, “and I’ve often wondered why we didn’t have our own wind turbine to offset electricity costs. The budget crunch gave me the opening to present the idea to the school board.”

The board of education agreed with Clapper that a wind turbine offered both economic and educational benefits. A committee of interested Wray citizens promptly formed to study the feasibility of the project. Clapper joined the committee and enlisted his vo-ag students to collect wind data on a hill south of town.

The school district contracted with Tom Wind of Wind Utility Consulting, Inc., to analyze the data and cost benefit. The data indicated class 4 wind resources on the proposed site. Using the costs and output of two wind turbines—a 660-kW and a 950-kW model—as examples, the study concluded that the area around Wray was an excellent prospect for wind energy development.

Fundraising begins at home
The committee initially selected a 660-kW unit and set out to raise the $917,000 needed to install it. Local support was strong from the outset. Eva Bowman, whose family has lived in Wray and attended district schools for five generations, committed $200,000 seed money to fundraising efforts on behalf of the family in spring 2004.

“My grandfather had died recently and we wanted to do something for the community in his memory,” explained Michael Bowman, a volunteer member of the wind committee. “We realized that the school district had been the common thread running through our family. That seemed like the place to make our mark.”

With the Bowman family contribution, everything seemed to fall into place, recalled Eva's grandson. A group of 21 local residents contributed another $167,000 to the project. “Without the seed money, we would still be scrambling,” Bowman said.

The Kitzmiller-Bales Trust, a local foundation set up by a retired school teacher, agreed to match the Bowman gift. In August 2004, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs awarded the district a $350,000 grant from the Colorado Energy Impact Fund.

Initiative brings broad range of partners to table
The project has drawn support from both sides of the political aisle. Supporters include Colorado Governor Bill Owens, U.S. senators Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), U.S. Congressional representatives Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.), State Representative Greg Brophy (R-District 63) and State Senate Majority Co-leader Mark Hillman (R-District 1).

Environmental and public-private advocate groups are helping the wind project along, too. Through the partnership and leadership of Valmont Industries, the school district has upgraded to a 1.5-MW turbine. The city, YW Electric Association and Western negotiated an agreement with the district that will allow the city to purchase the turbine’s total output, an anticipated quarter of Wray’s annual electricity use.

Community becomes renewable energy development model
As the first renewable energy project of its kind in the state, the school wind turbine will be a template for Colorado’s rural communities and schools seeking to develop community-scale projects. Rural AmeriTowne, a non-profit educational program located in Wray, plans to use the turbine to demonstrate the educational, environmental and economic aspects of renewable energy development in rural Colorado.

Now in the final stages of fundraising, Wray School District RD-2 expects to complete construction on the turbine and commission it in spring 2005. Anticipated revenues from the project will approach $250,000. The district hopes to use that money to restore some teaching positions that had been cut due to budget constraints.

Beyond direct economic benefits, Wray students will learn first hand about sustainability and clean energy. Perhaps even more important, they have had the opportunity to see what happens when a community meets a challenge head on with imagination.