Wind turbine in Hot Springs

Release from Progess Energy

The winds blowing through the mountains of North Carolina are moving more than leaves this fall, as Progress Energy unveiled a new wind turbine at Hot Springs Elementary School in Hot Springs, N.C. The demonstration wind turbine was installed as part of the Madison County Wind for Schools project, the first rural wind power education program east of the Mississippi River.


The 2-kilowatt wind turbine and a new K-12 alternative-energy curriculum are part of an effort to introduce wind power to rural communities and initiate community discussions around the benefits and challenges of alternative energy resources. Two additional demonstration wind turbines have been installed at Madison High School and the Madison County Cooperative Extension Office.

“Progress Energy is pursuing renewable energy as part of a balanced strategy for meeting the region's growing energy needs reliably, affordably and in an environmentally responsible fashion,” said John Smith, vice president of Progress Energy Carolinas’ western N.C. region. “We are committed to working with our communities to secure the region’s energy future. Today’s students are tomorrow’s decision makers and we will need their knowledge and innovation to expand the role of renewable energy in the years ahead.”

The Hot Springs wind turbine is equipped with the ability to monitor its energy production via the Internet and provides teachers and students a physical example of how wind power works and allows hands-on educational opportunities. The wind turbine inauguration event Oct. 29 also included a renewable energy fair for Hot Springs Elementary students. The fair provided information about solar, wind and other renewable energy resources.

The Madison County Wind for Schools project is one of Progress Energy’s investments in renewable and alternative energy education. The company recently announced that three Western N.C. schools are among the finalists for its SunSenseSM schools program, which will install solar photovoltaic (PV) equipment at five schools in the Carolinas through a partnership with the Carolina Hurricanes Kids 'N Community Foundation.

In addition, the Progress Energy Foundation will invest more than $600,000 in the Carolinas this year to support K-12 energy education and workforce development in public schools. For more information about Progress Energy’s renewable and alternative energy initiatives, please visit www.progress-energy.com/environment.

The Madison County Wind for Schools project is modeled after the U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind for Schools initiative. The partnership includes the Appalachian Regional Commission, Mountain Valleys Resource Conservation and Development, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Progress Energy Carolinas, French Broad EMC, the Madison County School System, the Madison County Cooperative Extension Service, Appalachian State University, Sundance Power and Southwest Wind Power. Each of the project partners is supporting the project financially or through in-kind donations