USA - Elco School District eyes wind power

Though the school year is at an end, the Elco School District is not quite ready to give up its teaching. The school board approved the construction of a 35-foot windmill. The goal: To serve as an example of alternative energy while powering the district’s maintenance building. Contingent upon a grant from the state, the windmill will be erected near the maintenance building between Elco’s high and middle schools in Jackson Township. It would be used to power the maintenance building as well as for instruction in science courses, Gwen Boltz, Elco business manager, told the general services committee.

“It’s intended to be a small-scale project to educate the public on wind power,” she said. The state Department of Environmental Protection is offering grants to select schools and municipalities to install the windmills. The grant stipulates that the windmills be built on public land. The only cost to the district would be a $300 connection fee with Met-Ed, which would install a second meter to monitor the wind power. George Rohr, supervisor for buildings and grounds, said the site is a prime location for wind. And when winds are calm, especially during certain times of the year, such as August, electricity supplied by Met-Ed will be used as a backup. The three-blade windmill will produce up to 2 kilowatts a day, Boltz said. The maintenance building only uses one kilowatt a day, she said, and it costs about $1,000 a year to power the small building. “It’s a great teaching tool,” school-board member Jack Kahl said during yesterday’s committee meeting. “Kids will be fascinated by it.”

A representative of the DEP recently met with Rohr and unofficially approved the site, district officials said. The representative said the district had about a 60 percent chance of being a grant recipient. The district should find out in about a week if it has been accepted.

In a related matter, the school board yesterday hired Strategic Building Solutions, Harrisburg, to uncover ways for the district to save money. Company officials said they believe they can save the district $9,000 to $18,000 in utility and other costs every year. It will cost the district up to $10,000 for the company to examine thoroughly both the middle school and Fort Zeller Elementary School. One of the goals will be to optimize the heating and cooling system. At the middle school, the gym lights are turned on in the morning when the first staff member arrives and stay on until late in the evening, Rohr said. The company has already suggested adding sunlight and motion sensors for lights to be activated only when needed. During daylight hours, the lights will only turn on during overcast days. As night falls, the lights will be activated by motion sensors.

In other business, the final $26.6 million budget for the 2006-07 school year is expected to be adopted at next week’s regular school board meeting. The district proposed a 3.5-mill, or 4.35 percent, increase in the real-estate tax, from 80.4 to 83.9 mills. A mill represents $1 of tax for every $1,000 in assessed property value, bringing the district about $174,950 in revenue. If approved, a homeowner whose property is assessed for tax purposes at $20,000 would pay $1,678 in school property taxes next year. That’s an increase of $70 over the current school year’s taxes.