Boardman schools seek to harness wind power for energy, cost savings

By Rick Rouan

BOARDMAN— The Mill Creek MetroParks board voted last week to submit a letter of support for a grant proposal that could bring wind power to part of a local school district.

The Boardman Local School District is seeking multiple state grants to help build two WindCubes, one stacked upon another, near its athletic complexes behind Boardman Glenwood Middle School, said Jim Massey, director of operations.

The district is seeking letters of support to enhance its grant application.

“What better place to do this than a school,” Massey said.

The WindCubes would help power a weight room, a new athletic complex for wrestling and baseball and some outdoor lighting for sports fields, Massey said.

“It saves the taxpayers money,” Massey said.

Massey said that he could not pin down how long it would take for the WindCubes to pay for themselves, but he did estimate that the district could save $18,000 to $20,000 a year.

The school is doing wind tests to determine how viable the area is for producing wind energy. An anemometer, a device used to measure wind, was placed atop a light pole about a month ago, Massey said, adding that at least 90 days of data are needed.

Such a project could generate several local jobs, Massey said.

“It is a pretty neat thing,” Massey said.

Massey said that the district is still in the preliminary stages of an extensive, 60-page application for the grant. No decisions have been made about purchasing the turbines.

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.