July and August are typically months where wind isn’t prevalent so the turbine had not been in action and Mellon explained they were able to fix some mechanical problems at that time.
Mellon said that the turbine has already saved the corporation money.
“This calendar year at the end of the third quarter we’ve only paid $33,000 to NIPSCO for electricity,” commented Mellon. “Last year during that same time period we paid $107,000. So, just in recouping that cost it’s very good. I think September will show to be a good month for us because we’ve had very few, if any, mechanical problems.”
The board will be looking closely at the end-of-the-year numbers to see how the turbine is working for the corporation.
“I think we’ll be pleased at the end of the year because you get by July and August then you have more steady wind. We’ll see some good numbers in October, November and December like we did last year,” said Mellon.
Mellon said that once they get by their next bill, he thinks the school will probably be back on just paying the $20 service fee that they paid from December to June last year.
The wind turbine has been in working order at the West Central School Corporation since April 1, 2012.
