Wind Power Could Aid Schools

CHICAGO-Global sales of wind turbines rose 36 percent on average in the five years ending in 2002.

Wind has become less of a scientific project and more of an energy resource, according to Steve Zwolinski, president of GE Wind Energy. The unit of General Electric makes 1,000 turbines a year and Zwolinski said that the company sees a strong market for the next decade as oil costs rise. Wind power, however, must overcome obstacles such as opposition from local residents and lack of utility lines.

MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., a unit of Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Neb.-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc., plans to begin building the world’s biggest wind farm in Iowa, as early as this year. The $323 million project, on leased farmland, calls for generating as much as 310 megawatts from as many as 200 wind turbines.

Public schools in Iowa are joining Buffett and General Electric in considering wind power as a means to generate funds. The Eldora-New Providence school in Hardin County, Iowa, installed a turbine in 2002 that it expects will generate 50 percent more electricity than their system needs. The owner of the local utility, Alliant Energy Corporation, has agreed to buy the excess power, which will contribute as much as $20,000 a year to the school system’s budget.