Paible School are now “Switched On” with a brand new 2.5 Kw Wind Turbine installed and setup at their school.  Pupils from primary 6 and 7 at Paible competed with 20 other schools from throughout the Western Isles to come out on top and win first prize in “The Inov8 NrG Competition” back in November 2005. 

The competition involved Energy Workshops for all primary 7 pupils in the Western Isles, to get hands on experience of various types of energy production, conversion and reduction. Then the next part of the competition was to produce three A3 posters illustrating the themes of Energy Reduction, Energy Production and Energy Use. The schools that entered the competition obviously put a great deal of effort into their entries. The posters depicted a wide variety of imaginative ideas and a very high standard of art work making the task of picking a winner incredibly difficult. 

Paible school entries stood out from the others because they had a corporate theme through all three posters, which used comic style figures from the ‘Beano’ and the ‘Dandy’ to illustrate their posters. One idea for energy production was a device on a bicycle which could charge a mobile phone while you get exercise. Eriskay School who were runners up in the competition considered a causeway from South Uist to Barra which would enable tidal energy to be produced, but they did not stop there; they included a factory and runway on the causeway to help give jobs to both communities.  Sandwick School were third and had a great slogan – ‘We’ll be winning when our turbine is spinning’. These are only a few of the wonderful ideas the schools came up with. 

The Inov8 NrG Competition, relied on a winning partnership between CnES Education and Technical Services Departments, The Energy Advisory Service (TEAS) and the sponsors Scottish and Southern Energy plc who kindly donated a Swift Wind Turbine and two energy efficient fridges for each of the runners up. After planning and structural details were considered it was decided that the original prize of the roof mounted turbine was unsuitable for this project. However Scottish and Southern Energy plc have kindly offered to jointly fund the project together with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar to the tune of £9,700. The pupils involved have been very patient and understanding considering the length of time the planning, construction and installation process has taken. To all those who were involved with any stage of Paible School Wind Turbine project, CnES Education and Paible School are very grateful. 

Paible School Wind Turbine is certainly a fantastic resource, which should help pupils gain an understanding of electricity production and make some savings for the school fund.

Nigel Scott
Communications Officer
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

Tel: 01851 709389 (Work)
Tel: 07884 236103 (Mobile)
email: nscott@cne-siar.gov.uk