Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Seven school districts now considering wind turbine

Seven school districts now considering wind turbine

Nov 22, 2004 - 23:44:22 CST

By the Associated Press

JAMESTOWN -- Seven school districts in south central North Dakota are considering wind energy to save money on utility costs.

The school districts of Ashley, Ellendale, Kulm, Napoleon, Strasburg, Wishek and Zeeland contracted with EAPC Architects and Engineers in Grand Forks to study the feasibility of a wind turbine to provide a majority of the electricity they use.

They will need help from the Legislature to get the project off the ground. Rep. Mike Brandenburg, R-Edgeley, said he is willing to lobby for it.

The estimated savings to the school districts is $114,470 per year, with a payback period of approximately eight years.

The project would be paid by selling bonds, which could be paid with the savings, Ellendale Superintendent Jeff Fastnacht said. If the Legislature approves, he said, his school could consider converting its two oil-burning boilers to electric boilers.

The Ellendale School District pays about $2,500 a month for utilities, and it would have to pay for its portion of the turbine. With an eight- to 10-year payback period, more money will be available later for other projects, Fastnacht said.

One of the legislative issues involves selling excess electricity back to the utility companies, Brandenburg said. Power companies normally buy excess electricity in similar cases at an "avoided rate" of 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour, he said. Legislators could consider a purchase price of at least the wholesale rate of about 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour, he said.

In Kulm, the school district spends about $18,000 a year on electricity and its cost went up 5 percent last year, Superintendent Dan Bauer said.

A wind tower could provide a learning opportunity for students, especially if a Web cam can be set up at the site, he said.

"Schools need to cooperate, and this (wind turbine) is an ideal issue," Bauer said.

News > State

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Comments

M Timpane wrote on Feb 5, 2008 12:48 AM:

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Dayton Peterman wrote on Jun 20, 2007 11:50 PM:

" Doctor Who takes three prizes at the National Television Awards in a repeat of its success last year. "

taxed enough! wrote on Jan 20, 2007 9:08 AM:

" I believe if the state house & senate members want to raise taxes maybe they could consider taking a pay cut! If they say it costs $58,000.00 per day to have them in session maybe they could do everything on line and save the state a ton of money! It's pretty easy to say, "Hey we'll just raise taxes", don't they think about keeping people in the state? Maybe we should have those who run for office lay out what their adgenda is before we elect them. Not just skirt around the questions like many do! "

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Have You Lost Your Mind (2) wrote on Sep 7, 2006 9:16 AM:

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Double Nickels wrote on Aug 10, 2006 1:21 PM:

" I really don't think that a bar open one more hours is going to make the roads that much more dangerous....that's just me. However, this city is always legged behind everywhere...We will never have a Hooters Bar & Grill let alone getting to stay open one more hour. If memory serves they used to have the mountain time zone across the river until people drove over there for last call. I personally don't care if they're open until 3 or 4 am, but the bottom line is it will never happen with all the conservative people living in this town. "

Veggie consumer wrote on Jul 25, 2006 3:51 PM:

" I think there should be a National Rutabega Recipe contest. The winner gets a trip to that Frisbee golf course. "

Have You Lost Your Mind? wrote on Jul 2, 2006 1:06 AM:

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Phillip wrote on May 20, 2006 5:24 PM:

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Lupita wrote on May 15, 2006 11:18 AM:

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matthew timpane wrote on Apr 7, 2006 3:49 PM:

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