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October 14, 2007

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By MIKE JAMES - The Independent The Daily Independent Sun Oct 14, 2007, 01:30 PM EDT

RUSSELL — Building a wind turbine generator outside the Russell Area Technology Center was just one facet of a wide-ranging class about energy conservation.

The students who built it also studied solar and biomass power and compared the efficiencies of different light sources.

And they studied the history of energy as well, from the coalfields of Kentucky to the windfarms of the Great Plains.

The class, which taught energy science by focusing on environmental awareness, was effective enough that the students earned a Kentucky Youth Award for Energy Achievement from the Kentucky National Energy Education Development project, and their instructor, Doug Keaton, got an Earth Day award from the state Environmental Quality Commission for his efforts.

The class was named E-3, which stands for efficient electrical energy.

By the time they’d completed it, the students had compared, using household electric meters provided by Kentucky Power, the difference in energy usage between incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent ones.

Then they made displays illustrating the greater efficiency of the fluorescents and set them up at Wal-Mart, where they passed out fliers to raise awareness of energy efficiency.

Their most visible achievement was building a full-size, working wind turbine and erecting it in front of the school, where it will generate enough electricity to light the hallways.

Before they did that, they made tabletop models so they could experiment with blade designs to maximize efficiency.

The hands-on nature of the class maximized its educational value, the students agree. “We learned a lot more than we would have in science class,” said Heather Kinley, a senior.

That’s because in most science classes they’d have been putting their work on paper first, said Shawn Stephens, a junior. In Keaton’s class they started right in on making things and doing things.

The approach made learning almost automatic, senior Jonathan Napier said. “You don’t realize how much you’re learning,” he said.

They’ve learned much about renewable energy sources like wind, said Kristi Miller, a junior. They’re cleaner, for one thing.

It’s those insights the students will be able to use in their own lives, she said.

She’s hoping to get more experience next year with renewable energy when the course will concentrate on solar power.

“There’s a lot of practical information they’ll leave here with that they can use in their own homes,” Keaton said.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.

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