Private/Public funded wind turbine at Bassingbourn Community Primary School

 
Bassingbourn Community Primary School has installed a 5kw wind turbine to help power the school.

Jane Murray the head teacher at the primary school said, “This has been a long, hard two years working to create a real positivebeacon of renewable technology at the heart of the community. Energy cannot be taken for granted and the turbine will help the childrenre-explore their relationship with energy. The governors would like to thank the kindness of the local community in supporting this project and I hope this wind turbine will be positive start of a much wider and deeper change in how we as a community live.”
 
The project has been a real community effort from the start with generous donations of time and money coming from Johnson Matthey, Partnerships in care, T J Wood Groundworks Ltd, the Primary school PTA, Governors and the Bassingbourn Transition Village group.

The Wind Turbine will be 15 metres high and will yield an estimated 6.64mwh of energy. This will mean a reduction in C02 emissions of 3.77 tonnes per year (figures based on the recognised figure of 0.568kg of C02 per kWh of grid displaced electricity.) The public foyer of the school will have a display showing the data readouts from interrogation software linked to the turbine.
 
Simon Saggers from the Bassingbourn Transition Village group said, “It is wonderful, after so much hard work from within the community, that the kids and village as a whole will see renewable energy in action at our primary school. The fact that the children will be able to learn about how the turbine works, monitor how much electricity is produced and compare that to how much electric they use at school will be an important educational experience!”

Donald McFadyen the local vicar (who is also on the Bassingbourn Transition Village core group) said “I know I speak for the whole congregation in congratulating the Primary school in showing us all that we can all make a difference locally and globally. The turbine will provide a beautiful daily reminder to children, parents and all of us, that we must make changes if we are to preserve a planet that future generations can enjoy.”

The Parish has welcomed what will be the first wind turbine to be installed in a community location in the area, Jack White, Chairman of the Parish Council said “It is excellent that the Primary School is leading the community in producing renewable energy – the turbine will be a new landmark for the village and the first step of our transition to a greener way of life.”
 
Written by Simon Saggers for Bassingbourn Transition Village 12/2009