A wind turbine which will form part of the replacement Dunfermline High School is likely to be larger in size than originally thought.
The existing building will make way for a £40 million environmentally friendly school next year and plans for the replacement initially contained a 14-metre vertical wind turbine which will provide electricity to the school at St Leonard’s Place.
But while the school itself is going ahead as planned, Fife Council has revealed that the wind turbine will now be 24 metres to the blade tip after the makers of the previously approved device stopped making that particular model.
Solar heating and rainwater collection also feature in the plans for the school, which is expected to have a capacity of around 1,800.
Diarmid McLachlan, lead professional with Fife Council, said: ”The previously approved turbine has now been discontinued by the manufacturer and because of this we now apply for the erection of a larger turbine with the same design at an increased height which will in fact be more efficient.”
The revised wind turbine application is still expected to be given the go-ahead under delegated powers and is unlikely to cause any delays to the project’s timescales.
As well as embracing technology to generate green energy, the school will also have a state-of-the-art heating system, CO2 and heat monitors in all classrooms, solar shading, rainwater collection which will be used to flush toilets, solar panels to help heat water, top level insulation, 40% of heating from renewable sources and environmentally sound materials.