Indiana Schools Install Wind Turbines With Help From NativeEnergy
Project powers school buildings and cuts greenhouse gas pollution
(3BL Media) Burlington, VT – September 5, 2012 – NativeEnergy, a leading provider of carbon credits, is offering carbon offsets from a trio of wind turbines serving Indiana school districts. By harnessing a natural resource, this project powers school buildings, saves money, and provides hands-on renewable energy training for young people.
“Our customers enthusiastically support community wind projects,” said Jeff Bernicke, NativeEnergy’s president. “We now have 29 successful wind developments in our portfolio of carbon projects.”
The Northwestern (Kokomo), West Central (Francesville), and North Newton (Morocco) School Corporations have each installed 900kW PowerWind turbines on their school campuses. Each district owns its turbine and will take advantage of the net metering incentive offered through the local electric utility company. The project is being developed by Performance Services of Indianapolis.
“Every dollar we save on energy costs and earn from carbon offsets is a dollar we can spend in the classroom,” said Harold Seamon, Northwestern assistant superintendent.
Each turbine is projected to produce 2,400 megawatt hours annually. They are expected to save school corporations millions of dollars over the 20+ year life of the turbines, helping the districts retain critical programs at a time when school budgets are dwindling. While the savings are significant over time, the initial cost for each turbine was prohibitive. NativeEnergy’s Help Build™ approach, which provides early funding for carbon credits, was essential in making the economics of the project workable.
Previously, NativeEnergy’s Help Build™ model was used to enable the development of the Wray, Colorado, school district turbine in 2006 and the City of Union City and Randolph Eastern School Corporation turbines in Indiana in 2011. The Union City project was also developed by Performance Services.
Speaking of the partnership, Tony Kuykendall of Performance Services said, “School wind projects offer a constellation of benefits— lower cost to schools, clean energy, real-world educational opportunities. At Performance Systems, we’re proud of our record in advancing community projects, and we’re glad we’ve found a partner in NativeEnergy who can help us succeed more quickly in more towns.”
The rewards to the schools and communities are not just financial. K-12 renewable energy curriculum—which integrates live and historical data from the turbines—will be offered at every school. In addition, Northwestern is discussing the offering of dual credit classes in conjunction with Indiana University at Kokomo and Ivy Tech Community College. At North Newton, credit from the high school’s renewable energy coursework will be earned through Purdue University and transferable to any state university in Indiana. Credit will also be available at West Central.
“This is the first wind turbine in our county. The community is very excited about it,” said Chuck Mellon, West Central superintendent, with a chuckle. “If the turbines aren’t turning on a certain day, I hear about it!”
About NativeEnergy
NativeEnergy is an expert provider of carbon offsets, renewable energy credits, and carbon accounting software. With NativeEnergy’s Help Build™ offsets, businesses and individuals can help finance the construction of wind, biogas, solar, and other carbon reduction projects with strong social and environmental benefits. Since 2000, NativeEnergy’s customers have helped build over 50 projects, reducing more than 2.5 million tons of greenhouse gases, and the company has over 4 million tons under contract. All NativeEnergy carbon offsets undergo third-party validation and verification. Learn more at www.nativeenergy.com.
About Performance Services
Performance Services is an Indianapolis-based engineering and construction company that specializes in constructing and renovating schools, universities and healthcare facilities to deliver optimal environments through both the Guaranteed Energy Savings Contract and Design-Build procurement methods. Innovative Community Wind projects are integral to the energy services portfolio. Learn more at www.performanceservices.com.
