A new wind turbine is in place at Mahtomedi High School after ironworkers braved near 100-degree heat to install the 125-foot Bergey 10-kilowatt turbine last month.

"The turbine is currently awaiting required inspections, after which the blades will be activated and begin capturing the Zephyr wind," said Jeanne Zlonis, a spokeswoman for the Mahtomedi Area Green Initiative (MAGI), a group of local volunteers who work to promote energy conservation and renewable and sustainable energy.

Members of MAGI recently completed a long fundraising campaign to pay for the $100,000 turbine and monitoring equipment, which will allow high school engineering, mathematics and science students to collect real-time data on wind direction, speed and energy production, Zlonis said.

MAGI used a $25,000 federal renewable energy grant from the Minnesota Office of Energy Security and a $7,400 Metro Clean Energy Resource Team grant to augment the $66,000 it collected from individuals, organizations, Girl Scout cookie sales and other community- and student-led fundraisers.

The "Zephyr Wind Turbine," named after the school's sports teams and the Greek god of the west winds, is expected to produce between 10,500 and 13,500 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which will be fed into the Xcel Energy grid, with proceeds credited to the school. By comparison, the average household uses about 8,100 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, according to Xcel Energy, so the school will see only negligible amount shaved off its energy bill.

The tower is located near the school's athletic fields.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 24, with a community celebration to follow at 7 p.m. The reception will be at the Great Hall of St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, 900 Stillwater Road in Mahtomedi. There will be refreshments, music and a brief program.

Tim Harlow • 651-735-1824 • Twitter: @timstrib