- Sioux Falls Memorial Middle School
- Douglas
- Sanborn Central
- Faith
- Selby
- Aberdeen
- Elkton
- Stanley County
Alas, Rutland was among the 24 applicants who didn't luck out. (I hope Governor Rounds's low opinion of Rutland's superintendent didn't have anything to do with the decision.)
Let's hope the eight winning schools make the most of their new energy saver... and let's hope the state and federall governments keep this program going so the rest of our schools can get a chance to capitalize on locally grown energy.
1.8 KW? That is not even a drop in a 50 gallon barrel. Let me guess, they've decided to pay $10k for each turbine too?
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see their economic justification for installing these turbines. I'm all for renewable energy, but only when it makes economic sense.
These facilities are all connected to a highly efficient, low cost electric grid. Adding some small, economically inefficient wind turbines is just a waste. They should spend the money on something useful.
Tony,
ReplyDeleteOur purpose behind the Wind for Schools program isn't power generation at all. You are correct that we have a highly efficient and low-cost electric grid in South Dakota, and we at the PUC take great pride in that fact. The same can also be said for our generation resources.
The Wind for Schools program is actually focused on EDUCATION. The sites will have data loggers and students will learn a great deal about how and when the wind blows (and when it doesn't) and many of the technical aspects of electric generation. If there was no educational component, I would agree with you that this might not be the most efficient use of generation dollars (wind power often isn't the most efficient), but with the focus being on education, we feel that it is a good investment. The power is a nice by-product, by the way . . . when was the last time a textbook gave you product (other than the learning) that was worth money (albeit in this case a relatively small amount)?
Thanks,
Dusty Johnson
SD Public Utilities Commissioner
Dusty,
ReplyDeleteThe approach sounds interesting and I wish you good luck in educating the students. To put electrical power into perspective for the students, I would highly recommend attaching the output to some device that does some amount of work. Possibly a pump and some water. In addition, place a manual pump next to it that students could use to "race" the wind powered pump. I think they would then be able to grasp the concept of power generation.
Electricity itself is too intangible for most high school students to grasp. I'm an ECE staff member at SDSMT and have helped put together learning materials for high school and younger age students in the past. I have found that providing tangible comparisons for the students is critical for understanding.
Great points, Tony. I, too, have struggled with how best to demonstrate those concepts to young people. Your "race" idea is one that hadn't occurred to me, but that is pretty gosh darn good.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Dusty