An ambitious school in the UK has installed a wind turbine on their property and managed to significantly reduce their electricity bill, last month by a whopping 86 per cent! On a blustery day, the turbine provides 3.5kW of power which is nearly sufficient enough to take care of all of the energy requirements needed to power Gorran School. When the school shuts down for the day, the weekend or holidays, any excess power is sold to the national grid. Not only that, the school has also been the recipient of £55,000 in grants.

The success of the project has inspired 30 other schools in the area to look into their own turbines and beyond proving valuable from a financial standpoint, has provided an invaluable education to the students that a classroom lecture could not have accomplished, says the school's head teacher Matthew Oakley.

“Just as important is the message that this is giving to our pupils about how important it is to be able to generate green energy, as this is the world they are going to be living in.”

The initial project wasn't without it's frustrations since no project like it had been undertaken in the area before, however now that it has been so successful, administrators are optimistic it will pave the way for others to follow suit. 

Okay admittedly the school is conveniently located on a hill overlooking the ocean which provides a constant supply of wind. However how many oceanside schools are there in the U.S. that could utilize this type of technology and generate sustainable energy? Or even beyond that, schools that are located in other naturally windy locations? If Gorran School has been able to inspire several other local schools, maybe their success story could do the same on this side of the pond. If Al Gore and T. Boone Pickens have their way, that might not actually be such a crazy idea.

» Times Online