Abbotsford school runs computer lab on green energy

Abbotsford middle school has become the first school in Canada to power a computer lab with three sources of renewable power.

A wind turbine, solar panels, and a bicycle-powered generator combine to charge a photovoltaic cell and provide carbon-neutral energy for the innovative computer lab.

Any excess energy stored in the photovoltaic cell is directed back into the school’s energy grid.

Abbotsford school board’s energy conservation manager, Rick Walker, wanted to get kids involved in his “green” efforts in a hands-on way.

“We put in green teams in the schools, comprised of teachers and students.”

Walker said previous administrations had already plucked the “low-hanging fruit” of changing light bulbs and upgrading motors. “We’re concentrating on behavioral stuff, getting kids to come up with ideas of their own.”

Walker challenged the kids to come up with something that would make it a real carbon-reducing contribution — and the alternative-energy-powered computer lab was born.

Avtar Bath, the school’s international baccalaureate coordinator, mentored Abbotsford middle school’s green team through the process.

“It’s been incredible, the kids are very excited and enthused. This is part of a big ambition. We want to become carbon-neutral with regards to our computer.”

Bath and Walker have the kids monitoring the carbon footprint of their school’s computer output. “This is already saving us 1,094 kilowatts of energy a year, and reducing carbon dioxide emission by 1,100 pounds,” Bath said.

The next stage in the carbon-neutral plan is to coordinate with the City of Abbotsford to plant trees to offset more carbon output.

Teigha Wall, 11, said being part of the project has been “the chance of a lifetime.”

“I enjoy being able to make a difference that will change the world forever,” Wall said.

Chad Coan, 12, has particularly enjoyed the hands-on involvement, and helping to set it all up.

The project was largely funded by money from the provincial education ministry’s annual facility grants, Walker said.

The 2009-2010 AFG grants were cancelled by the government in a move that stunned parents and school boards earlier this year.

Walker said the school made the decision to fund the project with savings socked away from previous years.

“It’s technology that will make us leaders and put us in the forefront. If this project was to happen now, today, we wouldn’t have money to do it,” he said.

Bath said the group has also drawn funding from the school’s parents’ advisory council and private sources, and they plan to continue chasing their carbon-neutral dream. “It’s educational and good for the community. Ultimately we hope this will become a life-long passion for these kids.”

dryan@vancouversun.com