WEGE PUTS WIND TURBINES ON TWO GRAND RAPIDS SCHOOLS

On Friday afternoon 2009, the students and teachers at St. Anthony’s of Padua School in Grand Rapids dedicated the new wind turbine attached to the chimney on their school’s roof. The energy-saving wind turbine is a gift to St. Anthony’s from Peter Wege. A huge banner across the front of the school reading, “Thank You Mr. Wege” proclaimed the K-8th graders’ appreciation and affection for their long-time friend and benefactor.

Peter Wege’s friend and St. Anthony’s parish priest Father Mark Przybysz offered a blessing to one of the first rooftop wind turbines in West Michigan. Built locally by Cascade Engineering, this Swift Wind Turbine reflects Peter Wege’s philosophy of economicology. By lowering the school’s electric bills while at the same time reducing the amount of CO2 released into the air, the wind turbine supports the both economy and the ecology—the two words Peter merged to coin “economicology.”

“When the environment and education come together,” Ellen Satterlee, executive director of The Wege Foundation told the media attending the dedication, “those are some of Mr. Wege’s favorite projects.”

This newest gift from The Wege Foundation is not the first innovative energy-saver that Peter Wege and Father Mark have teamed up on. The first was the only LEED-certified—by the United States Green Building Council—rectory in the world, St. Anthony’s parish rectory called Villa Verde—the green home.

The Wege Foundation also funded a LEED-certified expansion of St. Anthony’s School that included solar panels. Today those 7,000 square-feet of new classrooms receive all their energy from solar power.

This latest gift of a wind turbine from The Wege Foundation honors three of Peter Wege’s favorite causes: environment, education, and the Catholic Church. Besides watching the wind turbine go up on their school, the students and their families will be educated on how effective wind energy can be. At the main entrance to the school and to the church a monitor will record 24/7 how much energy Michigan’s lakeshore winds are providing free for St. Anthony’s.

As Father Mark Przybysz told the press, “The neat thing that Peter does is he tries to get things out there for people to see and experience instead of just reading about them.” And summarizing what West Michigan has found out about Peter Wege over the years, Father Mark added, “He’s a real forward thinker.”

Peter Wege and The Wege Foundation also donated an identical 7-foot diameter rooftop wind turbine to City High/Middle School in the Grand Rapids Public Schools . City High/Middle is home to a new environmental curriculum funded by The Wege Foundation and based on the principles of economicology. These new rooftop turbines cost between $10,000 and $12,000 installed, with at least 30% of that refunded in tax credits for energy savings.

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