Project Details

With the help of developer Performance Services, Inc. and NativeEnergy, Northwestern School Corporation, West Central School Corporation, and North Newton School Corporation have each installed a 900kW PowerWind turbine on their campuses. Each district owns its turbine and plans to take advantage of the net metering incentive offered through the local electric utility company. Under this arrangement, every kilowatt hour generated by the turbine offsets a kilowatt hour of electricity used by the school at the retail rate.

The turbines are expected to save the school corporations millions of dollars over their 20+ year lives, helping the districts retain teachers and 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.

Northwestern School Corporation
Kokomo, IN
Recognized as a Federal Blue Ribbon School, Northwestern is serious about science. Students regularly attend the International Science Fair, and in 2012, one senior took home both of the state's top science prizes. With the installation of its new turbine, science-minded youngsters are now able to gain hands-on training in renewable energy.

About five years ago, Northwestern administrators took a serious look at the school's growing energy costs. They took several efficiency measures, like replacing heating equipment with newer models, and realized significant savings. Then they began to consider on-site energy generation. This led to plans for a wind turbine, made possible by their utility's net metering incentive and NativeEnergy's Help Build™ carbon offsets.

"Two things contributed to our decision to move forward," noted Harold Seamon, assistant superintendent. "Net metering and carbon offset revenues are both key because we need to show a positive annual cash flow."

But the rewards aren't just financial. "Students can look right out the window and see that, hey, these guys really care about renewable energy." The school will stream real-time data from the turbine for educational use, and administrators are discussing the offering of dual credit classes with Indiana University at Kokomo and Ivy Tech Community College.

North Newton School Corporation
Morocco, IN
North Newton School Corporation serves the rural farming community of Newton County, which spans 290 square miles. Through studies conducted by Performance Services, the district discovered that their wind resource made a turbine a promising investment.

"We're really excited," said superintendent Brian Smith. "There should be almost no energy bill for the next 20 years for our junior/senior high school."

The turbine was installed on the south side of campus. Credit from the high school renewable energy coursework will be earned through Purdue University and transferable to any state university in Indiana.

West Central School Corporation
Francesville, IN
The leaders of West Central School Corporation knew they had wind, but didn't realize it was one of the best wind "resources" in the state. They learned about this—and the potential for longer-term cost savings—when discussions began with Performance Services in 2009. After nearly three years of diligence including wind, environmental, sound, flicker, and aviation studies, the school decided to move forward.

"We are a small, rural school corporation," said Chuck Mellon, the superintendent. "All buildings are on one site and we had the space to erect a tower. Everything just seemed to fall into place."

The turbine was installed on the east side of campus—alongside corn in the school's Future Farmers of America field. Through the renewable energy curriculum, high school students will be able to earn dual credit from nearby Ivy Tech Community College.

"This is the first wind turbine in our county. The community is very excited about it." Chuck laughed, "If the turbines aren't turning on a certain day, I hear about it!"

Sustainable Development Benefits

• Significantly cuts greenhouse gas pollution 
• Replaces polluting grid-based electricity with renewable energy
• Generates important savings for the school systems
• Provides green energy learning opportunities and vocational training for students
• Benefits the electric grid with distributed, small-scale power generation

Project Participants

This project is a collaborative effort among West Central School Corporation, North Newton School Corporation, Northwestern School Corporation, Performance Services, Inc., and NativeEnergy.

Validation and Verification

The project will be validated and the carbon offsets verified to the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). 

Financial Additionality

In addition to meeting the stringent requirements of VCS, NativeEnergy has ensured that the system would not have been implemented without the opportunity to receive revenues from the sale of its carbon offsets. Specifically, the carbon revenues helped the school corporations achieve their investment payback and cash flow requirements.