Leaders of a southwest Iowa school district are considering an alternative energy source to help power its biggest campus. Clarinda’s school board is weighing the benefits of putting up a wind turbine to provide electricity at Clarinda High School. Superintendent Paul Honnold says the turbine would greatly offset power bills.
“The one turbine can provide more than $16,000 in electrical savings annually which represents about half of the annual cost of the high school facility,” Honnold says. “The turbines could be purchased out of local option sales tax or they could be leased from local investors who would purchase them as a tax incentive.”
On Monday night, the school board heard a presentation from a spokesman from Heartland Energy Solutions of Mount Ayr. Elsewhere, the Spirit Lake school district has two on-campus wind turbines, which supply almost half of the district’s electrical needs, saving more than $178,000 each year.
By Mike Peterson, KMA, Shenandoah
