The New Albany Community Foundation presented a $10,000 donation to the New Albany-Plain Local Board of Education during its regular meeting, Monday, January 23.
The New Albany Community Foundation presented a $10,000 donation to the New Albany-Plain Local Board of Education during its regular meeting, Monday, January 23.
The grant will be used to support the New Albany School Environmental Science Program and honors former American Electric Power CEO Michael Morris. Mr. Morris retired as CEO on November 11, 2011. He continues as chairman of AEP’s Board of Directors.
The grant will support Alternative Solar and Wind Energy curriculum. One example of this new curricular focus is New Albany High School senior Boston Wedekind, who is preparing his Senior Seminar project on alternative energy. He is working with Solar Vision LLC, a company located in Westerville. Solar Vision, founded by Greg Kuss, makes solar energy solutions for schools, commercial and industrial sites and municipalities.
Boston is completing an internship at Solar Vision. Boston and his SERC Teacher Chad Schwinnen worked with Greg Kuss to build the Green Energy Machine for New Albany schools students to learn about alternative energy. The Green Energy Machine is was created through Energy Designs, Inc. which is involved with Solar Vision, and focuses on the promotion and general education of renewable energy.
Looking down the road, students will erect a 1 kilowatt Wind Turbine that will produce electricity to be merged with the 2004 AEP Grant funded Solar Panels in order to power K-12 Outdoor Education facilities.
“With these two projects Solar and Wind Power Senior Projects, we hope to design a new connection system that will feed excess generated renewable solar and wind powered electricity back into the AEP Grid that will credit the NAPLS district with electrical energy cost reductions” said Sandra Willmore, Environmental Science Program coordinator.