Marblehead High welcomes wind turbine

MARBLEHEAD – The Marblehead High wind turbine project had school officials walking on air Wednesday, thanks to local renewable-energy company Deerpath Energy.Mounted on a light pole in the school parking lot, the donated Southwest Wind Power turbine can generate 2,500-3,000 kilowatts per year, enough to power "half a house," according to Deerpath CEO and founder Kelly Warner, a Marblehead resident who spoke at the turbine ribbon-cutting ceremonies. Warner said current turbine installation costs are $15,000-$20,000. "Our mission is to get the cost down," he said.Deerpath is pioneering a new renewable energy solution called "Scalable Small Wind." The MHS turbine was donated for use in school classes and projects, and as a test site for the company. Scalable Small Wind allows schools, city and town facilities, commercial companies and government agencies to use clean and green energy in areas where large wind solutions are not feasible."This little turbine, when scaled, can make a huge impact," Warner said. He thanked Marblehead Town Administrator Tony Sasso, Titan Electric Corporation, Diversify Consultants, Anderson Street Auto Body, Tannin Corporation, Willard and Sons, McKay Construction Foundation and Marblehead Landscape Company for their help in the installation.Deerpath Marketing Director Karen Regnante said more than half the company employees are from Marblehead or Swampscott.Acting Co-Principal Kristina Kyles told a 40-student audience in the school library that the project was described to her originally as "a backyard version of a turbine." Her reaction to what she calls "a cool toy" was, "Only in Marblehead."Now the school administrator, who freely admits that she avoided the early purchase of an iPad, has promised the science students in the audience to get ready for her quiz questions this spring when turbine energy-generating readouts become available: "Is it working? And how much money did we save?"The turbine will be part of this spring’s science classes at the high school for a reason: "Whenever we put real stuff in front of you, you tear it up," Kyles said. "You drill down and find the truth in every problem."Superintendent of Schools Paul Dulac noted that every time he leaves the high school he can hear the low sound of the turbine blades in the wind. He praised Deerpath for thinking to use the wind resources in a school parking lot instead of the more obvious locations like mountaintops and harbor sounds. "Thank you for thinking of us," he said.