October 2, 2017
Scotland

Sanquhar pupils get lessons on windfarms

Stephen Bark | Cumnock Chronicle | www.cumnockchronicle.com

Pupils from Sanquhar Primary School were visited by one of the companies involved in building the new local windfarm.

Turbine installation experts Windhoist visited the school to teach the kids about what they do.

The company, which has erected over 6,000 turbines worldwide, is leading the construction of the nine-turbine development at Sanquhar.

After watching a short video showing how a wind turbine is put together, training instructor Jack Neill, marketing manager Lynn Obi and HR manager Coleen Forde spoke with the pupils.

They were taught how the turbines work, what the company has done worldwide, how tall the turbines at Sanquhar will be and how the parts are transported from Denmark.

After speaking with each class, Lynn, Coleen and Jack set the pupils a challenge to draw the best wind turbine related picture their imagination could come up with and the four best, two from each class, will win a toy crane.

They also presented each pupil in P3 and P4 with a Barney and Echo ‘Sparky’s Big Idea’ activity book at the end of their talk.

Jack explains why Windhoist visit the local schools and engage with the communities they work in.

He said: “This is not the first school we have been to and we’re trying to put across the message of green energy to the younger children so that when they grow up a bit they can appreciate what we’re trying to do these days to help them in the future, help the whole Earth in fact.

“As I said to them, governments now have got an agreement that they are to put so much energy into green energy.

“Now that we have this agreement in place, and as I said to them as well, last year, for the first time, 100% of Scottish energy two or three times was produced by windfarms so it is very much on the increase.”

The windfarm at Sanquhar will be responsible for powering around 30,000 homes – as well as the small task of powering the production of every single Milkybar, Kit Kat and Fruit Pastille made in the UK and Ireland.

Jack explained: “Sanquhar windfarm is a private community enterprise. The power from it is basically going to Nestlé to power their UK and Irish plants.

“The excess capacity will power approximately 30,000 homes.”

Sanquhar Primary’s head teacher Christine Wilson was happy to have Windhoist at the school.

She said: “It is an important link for the community and the children are part of the community because the windfarm is so close and can be seen.

“The children have seen and heard all that is going on around the wind farms so it is good for them to hear from these people but as part of the community.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/10/02/sanquhar-pupils-get-lessons-on-windfarms/