PARIS — A wind turbine installed at the Gouin Athletic Complex is expected to significantly reduce energy costs.

Oxford Hills School District Superintendent Rick Colpitts said the 2.4 kilowatt Skystream Wind Turbine is connected to Central Maine Power through an inverter that feeds directly into the electric grid at the Alpine Street site.

“Students will be able to observe the impact of energy produced through the turbine and other energy retrofits at the high school through an interactive screen or Internet connection,” he said.

The turbine is part of the energy retrofit that was approved by the voters more than a year ago. Other projects included solar hot water, photovoltaic cells operating pumps for the solar hot water, LED parking lot lights and more.

The largest piece of the energy retrofit project is the biomass boiler that was installed during the spring at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School. It is expected to save the school $120,000 in fuel each year.

The conversion project from oil to wood chips at the high school was planned to address escalating fuel costs and reduce dependence on foreign oil sources. The furnace will supplement about 90 percent of the consumption of No. 2 fuel oil.

In 2009, students on the Team Green at OHCHS designed and built a wind turbine that was installed in the school’s front yard to light the school signboard. Their turbine proved to not be a match for “the forces of nature” and had to be taken down, Colpitts said.

ldixon@sunjournal.com

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