Energy Department Announces Partnership with DWEA to Support Wind for Schools Program

The Wind Program announced that the Distributed Wind Energy Association (DWEA) has been selected as a partner to support the long-term sustainability of the Wind for Schools program. The selection is part of a broader effort by the Department to support the growth of the Wind for Schools network and diversify sources of funding to allow for more schools nationwide to be able to participate in the program. Over the course of nine months, DWEA's project team will work with the existing Wind for Schools participants to further the initiative's mission of bringing wind education to the classroom through experiential learning. The selection was announced at The Department's Wind Workforce Development and Education Summit held in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 22nd–23rd.

Wind for Schools currently supports a network of rural K-12 public schools and higher education institutions in Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Arizona, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. Each K-12 school hosts a wind turbine, with installation and curriculum supported by students and faculty working with a Wind Application Center at a partner university in their state. The K-12 host school incorporates their school's wind turbine into their classroom as a way to support interactive and interschool research tasks that inspire and demonstrate novel approaches to teach science and involve K-12 students in their communities. Students at higher education institutions are also engaged as they serve as project consultants at the Wind Application Centers. DWEA's partnership in Wind for Schools will support the existing Wind Application Centers as well as help to make connections with industry and help additional states, universities and schools to join.

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The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy accelerates development and deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and market-based solutions that strengthen U.S. energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality. Go to wind.energy.gov to learn more about our Wind Power Program's funding opportunities and efforts to develop innovative technologies capable of generating renewable, environmentally friendly, cost-competitive electricity from wind resources. To learn more about the WINDExchange's Wind for Schools program, view the Wind for Schools website.