in a part of Iowa where the air is
seldom still a school district counts on
a rock-solid constant
with each turn of two wind turbines
right next door
Spirit Lake schools save in 1993 the
district built the first wind turbine in
the Midwest used to power a school since
then it’s added a second larger turbine
the two combined earn about $120,000 a
year for the school that may not sound
like a lot until you put it in human
terms well it will mean anywhere from
two to three teachers which is very
important at a time right now inside the
larger newer turbine you get a sense of
its size this turbine stands 180 feet to
the height it’s anchored by dozens of
steel rods that plunge 25 feet into a
concrete foundation what type of a wind
could this withstand it’s great at the
stand-up 230 no small consideration on
Buffalo Ridge a part of Iowa where a
tornado is not out of the question
the turbines are designed to shut down
in strong winds in just eight mile an
hour winds they’ll produce energy unlike
the smaller turbine the larger one sends
power to the grid not the school this
little school district has become an
energy exporter physics teacher Jan
Beloit can’t imagine why schools
wouldn’t want wind power beyond the
economic benefit he finds value in a
Learning Lab right outside when I talk
about force and energy and electricity
they see that we’re producing it right
here students even keep track of the
fossil fuels the school’s no longer
consume just to keep the lights on we’re
talking tons of carbon dioxide we’re
talking tons and sulfur dioxide we’re
talking hundreds of trees so you know
it’s not just a small thing harnessing
the power to earn and learn on Buffalo
ridge the future will be written in the
wind
you
seldom still a school district counts on
a rock-solid constant
with each turn of two wind turbines
right next door
Spirit Lake schools save in 1993 the
district built the first wind turbine in
the Midwest used to power a school since
then it’s added a second larger turbine
the two combined earn about $120,000 a
year for the school that may not sound
like a lot until you put it in human
terms well it will mean anywhere from
two to three teachers which is very
important at a time right now inside the
larger newer turbine you get a sense of
its size this turbine stands 180 feet to
the height it’s anchored by dozens of
steel rods that plunge 25 feet into a
concrete foundation what type of a wind
could this withstand it’s great at the
stand-up 230 no small consideration on
Buffalo Ridge a part of Iowa where a
tornado is not out of the question
the turbines are designed to shut down
in strong winds in just eight mile an
hour winds they’ll produce energy unlike
the smaller turbine the larger one sends
power to the grid not the school this
little school district has become an
energy exporter physics teacher Jan
Beloit can’t imagine why schools
wouldn’t want wind power beyond the
economic benefit he finds value in a
Learning Lab right outside when I talk
about force and energy and electricity
they see that we’re producing it right
here students even keep track of the
fossil fuels the school’s no longer
consume just to keep the lights on we’re
talking tons of carbon dioxide we’re
talking tons and sulfur dioxide we’re
talking hundreds of trees so you know
it’s not just a small thing harnessing
the power to earn and learn on Buffalo
ridge the future will be written in the
wind
you
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