California high school installs new wind turbines

Four vertical turbines have been installed at Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, California. This move came after several months of talks regarding the best way to improve the school’s sustainability, the Lake Arrowhead Mountain News reports.

According to the media outlet, the turbines are a part of the school’s existing green energy farm, which also includes four solar panels that have been live since early October. Now that the windmills have been installed, the next step will be to do the electrical wiring in the 23-foot steel structures, then connect them to the school’s power system.

“This is a very exciting time,” said Scott Markovich, Rim of the World Unified School District school board president.

Markovich has been keeping track of the high school’s progress to run a greener operation.

“The (high school) kids will be able to get some practical experience at how green energy is generated, and use math and physics to help monitor the process,” he added.

The high school’s new program is in line with statewide trends to go green. In 2009, 11.6 percent of all electricity in the state came from renewable energy sources, including geothermal, biomass, wind, solar and small hydroelectric facilities.