Wind turbine saves thousands for school

MARTINSVILLE, ILL. (WTHI) - Thanks to a $400,000 grant, a new school in Illinois will be going green, while saving some green.

Martinsville Schools recently installed 120-foot tall wind turbine to help power the new Martinsville High School once it opens.

It will supplement the power grid for the school, saving close to $10,000 in electric bills.

The turbine will get roughly 85,000 kilowatt hours annually.

It'll even provide a new study subject for students.

"We'll have a monitoring station in our new school that's where the students can look and see, you know, what's the wind speed? What kind of out put are we getting from the wind turbine?" Superintendent Jill Rogers said.

It also helps them meet green requirements set by the state.

More than anything, the windy power provider is giving the district a reason to look up.

That's because the money they're saving will help offset the funds they can't get from the state.

"I mean right now, we're floating the state, so we have to shuffle money all over the place just to make ends meet and that will help," Rogers said.

The school district received a grant from the Illinois Capital Development Board to pay for the turbine.