As federal stimulus dollars begin to trickle down to the local level, the Bloomfield School District will get seven-thousand dollars from the USDA’s Rural Business Enterprise program. The grant will be used to build a mini wind turbine near the school.
Principal Kim Lingenfelter says the growth of a wind farm near Bloomfield led to the application. She says 20 full-size wind turbines are going up just north of town and it was determined the school’s site was “perfectly windy” and would be a good place for a small-scale version.
Lingenfelter says the school and community also contributed to the project. The school is chipping in $1500 while NPPD will help install the wiring. Besides providing a small amount of electricity, Lingenfelter says they are excited by the educational side of the project, too.
She says the wind tubine will be very hands-on for all students, K-through-12. Nebraska will receive just over $147,000 dollars in this part of the federal funding package.
Thanks to Jerry Oster, WNAX, Yankton