Oct. 16--CONNEAUT -- A larger-than-expected wind turbine will help take a bigger bite out of Conneaut Middle School's electric bill, Conneaut Board of Education members learned at Thursday's regular meeting.

Superintendent Kent Houston, said he was recently informed that NexGen Energy of Boulder, Colo., plans to erect a 600 kW turbine behind the school instead of a 400 kW machine. The upgrade won't cost the district a dime and will handle a bigger share of the school's energy needs

Construction is still scheduled to begin this year, with a completion date in early 2010.

Also, Houston announced that Conneaut High School has secured its fifth consecutive "School of Promise" award from the Ohio Department of Education for the 2008-2009 year. The award is based on a school's academic achievement in connection with its percentage of low-income students.

Good things come in fives for CHS -- in addition to the string of "Promise" awards, it has earned five straight "excellent" ratings on the ODE's annual district report cards.

"It's a pretty impressive honor," Houston said.

Board members were pleased with the fact that CHS was one of only 134 school buildings -- out of thousands across the state -- to receive the honor.

"It's not anything to laugh at," said member Nicholas Iarocci. "We're becoming used to being excellent. We have a lot to be proud of in this community."

During the summer, the school board signed a contract with NexGen that installs the wind turbine behind CMC at no cost to the district. The board did agree to buy the electricity that will be pumped into the school over 10 years.

The board is confident rates charged by NexGen will ultimately result in lower electric bills at CMC compared to rates charged by FirstEnergy. The district must also pay a $9,500 good-faith fee to NexGen that will be reimbursed via energy credits before the contract expires.

The original 400 kW machine would have handled 20 percent of the school's energy needs. The bigger turbine is expected to satisfy 40 to 60 percent of the demand, Heinonen said.

The new turbine will be bigger in size, too, sitting atop a tower nearly 200 feet tall.

Conneaut's waste water treatment plant will also receive a turbine, but it was unknown Thursday night if it will get a 600 kw upgrade, too.

For the second straight month, the board met away from its Mill Street office. Thursday's meeting was conducted at the Villa at the Lake, an assisted living center on Parrish Road. Last month, the board met at the Monroe Township fire hall.

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