Sheringham school makes its own energy

A 15m turbine, advertising a north Norfolk school's green credentials, was sent whizzing into action for the first time on Monday.Taking pride of place in front of Sheringham High's main entrance, it should generate more than 9,900kWh per year, based on an average wind speed of 5.

Taking pride of place in front of Sheringham High's main entrance, it should generate more than 9,900kwh per year, based on an average wind speed of 5.4m per second, (a light breeze) and will provide about 3pc of its electricity.

According to head boy George Phillips, who is also on the school's Eco Team, that should be enough to power half of the school's computers.

Setting the blades in motion for the first time, North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb congratulated the Eco Team - a group of 40 students responsible for making their school more environmentally friendly. He said: "I'm really impressed by you for achieving this - it's wonderful."

The project, co-ordinated the school's head of support staff Victoria Parnell, has cost about �25,000 and has been funded by grants from lottery groups Awards for All and the Community Sustainable Energy Programme and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform's Low Carbon Buildings Programme.

Soon it should be possible to track how much electricity the turbine generates on the school's website and George hopes that will encourage others to follow their lead.

The year 11 pupil said: "We can be a beacon for others. It's not a huge thing to do and it can be done. It hopefully will make a real difference."