Seventh Generation Energy Systems

Education through Implementation

Wausau, WI School District”s Renewable Energy Outdoor Learning Center is an excellent example of how implementation works to educate citizens and students. With the help of a supportive school district, leaders of the project navigated the water of installing two small wind turbines and one solar tracking panels at the High School.

Public initiatives often rely on citizen support. In this case the Walter Alexander foundation was a proactive project partner, contributing vision and financial support to make the dream a reality. Dr. Fred Prehn, a member of the foundation’s board, said “the ultimate goal of the center is to spark students’ imaginations, get them motivated to enter the alternative energy industry, and fuel a power revolution.”

Both the High School superintendent and principal, along with Lauren Ebbecke, a science teacher at the school, were key champions to facilitate the process. Ebbecke believes that students will benefit from “being able to have these tools right here in our backyard, that students can actively engage and work with the data firsthand, and become involved with renewable energy instead of learning from a textbook.”

Seventh Generation in practice

At SGES, our philosophy is to make decisions that create a sustainable world seven generations into the future. When given the opportunity to participate in a school project, we embrace the vision. The installation of three parallel systems offered it’s own challenges. Educational opportunities begin with us, as we work with the project team to meet each specification as we work within an emerging technology.

Challenges met, Lessons learned

During the permitting process we discovered that there were two wetlands requiring extensive review of site conditions. In the end we settled on a short road in non-wetland area for access to 2nd turbine.

Further on, we learned that expensive engineering and construction of foundation for the 100kW Northwind Wind Turbine would increase the funds needed for construction. The Walter Alexander Foundation came up with the additional costs to cover the project. Everyone worked together to find a solution that would allow the project to continue.

In the construction of the foundation for the smaller wind turbine, we encountered multiple challenges with the tower design and manufacturer availability. SGES worked closely with the Wausau team to find a good match The decision, in the end, was to install a 10kW Bergey Excel-S on a 120’ Rohn tower.

Sharing the Knowledge

The Outdoor Renewable Energy Learning Center is an example for the community and the students to interact with the systems through a web interface that records the wind speed and production data. Science classes at the High School will include curriculum that covers renewable energy and technical aspects of the technology.

Wisconsin Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton, who attended the inaugural event for the Learning Center, said it well, “What they’re doing is creating an opportunity to change the way that children learn and think that they have access to real world data to analyze to see how to take the next step.”

Floating a dream on a strong foundation

Students of Wausau School district will benefit for years to come from the fertile vision of a handful of leaders, working to open their eyes to the potential of a new energy future. The renewable energy systems at Wausau East High School are a bridge to the next generation of innovators.