The co-operative funds wind turbine at south ayrshire school
Dundonald Primary School is to become the first school in Scotland to power its premises using a wind turbine funded by The Co-operative’s £2m Green Energy for Schools scheme.
Installation of the school’s 6kW turbine has been made possible with a £10,000 Co-operative grant match-funded by £17,000 from the Government’s Low Carbon Building Programme (LCBP).
The Co-operative has spent more than £1m installing solar panels at 100 schools across the UK during the past year and is now investing a further £1m to install solar panels at 60 schools and to pilot three additional renewable technologies – wind turbines, biomass boilers and ground source heat pumps – at over 20 schools.
Leading UK wind turbine installer Sundog Energy has erected the 18-metre Proven Energy wind turbine on the school field, where it will be officially switched on by pupils at 10am on Friday, 5 June. The switch-on will follow a special assembly about renewable energy led by South Ayrshire Council’s environment strategy officer Fiona Ross and energy engineer Bryce Donaldson.
It marks a special installation for Proven Energy, as the company’s founder and president Gordon Proven, who designed the turbine, was a pupil at the school.
The turbine is expected to generate 10,000 units of electricity each year – enough to make half a million cups of tea – saving 5.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
A monitor in the school building will enable pupils to keep track of how much energy the turbine is generating and the amount of carbon dioxide they have saved to date.
The Co-operative’s senior community manager Sarah Klueter said: “As a community business with a long track record in using renewable energy to power our own buildings, it makes sense to bring our experience and funding to help our local schools in this way.
“By switching on the wind turbine, Dundonald Primary is helping to educate the next generation about climate change while setting an excellent example to other schools, businesses and homes in South Ayrshire.”
Pupils and staff have welcomed the wind turbine.
Primary Five pupil and school eco committee member Zoe Cobbett, aged 10, said “We are so pleased to have our own wind turbine. This will allow us to produce our own power and help us to protect our planet for the future.”
Headteacher Janice Watson added: “We are working on a number of initiatives to make Dundonald Primary a greener school and the switch-on of this impressive wind turbine is an enormous boost to our efforts.
“The turbine will reduce our carbon footprint, save us money on electricity bills and help us to inspire pupils about environmental issues. We would like to thank The Co-operative for supporting this important project and helping our school to lead the way on renewable energy.”
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