Continued: Northfield students help their school catch some rays

Kaya Lovestrand stood in the hot sun behind Northfield's ARTech charter school one morning last week, beaming at two electricians standing on scaffolding in front of her.

The 11th-grader at the arts and technology school could finally breathe easy as the electricians installed a series of 10 solar panels on a giant pole, after half a year of work by a group of students.

"It's been amazing to learn how to do this," said Lovestrand, who helped design the project. "I've learned a lot about renewable energy, and how it can be used in life. That's valuable information to know."

Lovestrand was one of about 25 students at ARTech who contributed time to the project. ARTech is a grade six through 12 project-based school, meaning students get academic credit for designing and completing projects, such as researching leukemia.

This project's genesis came from ARTech science specialist Jana Reed, who got the idea from a parent at the school. Students wrote grant applications, asked businesses to contribute money, designed the project and even decided which kind of system to order.

The school got a $5,000 grant from Xcel Energy for educational display -- which they have used for a computer system that can teach students about the panels and allow them to use sensors that export data about how much energy they're producing.

Students also received a $5,000 CERTs (Clean Energy Resource Teams) grant to pay for the installation.

The project cost somewhere between $20,000 and $25,000, according to Lovestrand. In addition to the grants, some panels are sponsored by businesses and the school held a bike-a-thon to raise money.

"It's really been empowering to see how much work the students have done on the project," Reed said, "they kind of took a risk. I don't think a traditional school would have gone for it. It feels good to have it finished."

The solar panels will produce enough energy to meet about 5 percent of the school's needs. If the school is empty and no energy is being used, energy generated will go back to the grid.

According to student Bobby DeLanghe, who just graduated, even though the solar panels don't produce "that much" energy, their existence should encourage students and staff at the school to think more about their energy use and develop more energy-efficient habits.

As for next year, Lovestrand already has her sights set on her next project: A wind turbine for the school.

"It would produce a great deal more energy," she said.

Emily Johns • 952-882-9056

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