A PRIMARY school is turning green, with plans to install a 40ft-high wind turbine to generate its own electricity.

The eco-friendly initiative has been embraced by Elm Primary School and could see the 12-metre high turbine sited in the school’s playing field.

The trail-blazing idea was prompted by an invitation to the pupils at the school in Elm, near Wisbech, to open a wind turbine farm at the nearby village of Coldham.

Headteacher Chris Child believes the turbine will cut the school’s electricity bill by powering all its lights and, at the same time, educate children about environmental issues.

He also intends to use it to earn money, by selling electricity to the National Grid at times when the school was closed at weekends or during the holidays.

He said: “It’s important pupils learn about global warming and the need for a greener planet. It’s their world”.

The turbine, he said, would cost between £10,000 and £15,000 and would be financed by a combination of Government grants and local charitable appeals.

Mr Child said he hoped there will not be opposition in the village because the turbine would be much smaller than the structures at Coldham.

A spokesman for installers Segen said the turbine would be 80 metres from the nearest private property and 250 metres from the nearest road.

The low rotor tip speed and the direct drive mechanism, without a gearbox, would ensure any noise would be “gentle”.

Elm parish councillor and former chairman Phil Webb said: “I am in full support of the idea. I know wind turbines can be controversial, but this one would not be very big.

“I hope people go for it – I haven’t heard any criticism.

“With the cost of energy and global warming we have to do something.”

Spokesman for the Peterborough branch of Friends of the Earth Richard Olive praised the school’s ambitious plan.

He said: “The more self-sufficent we can become, the better it is for the environment.

“A typical power station loses 60 per cent of its power as it transmits electricity to consumers.

“So much energy is lost through heat during transmission – that’s why most cables are above, rather than under the ground.

“The answer is for people to produce their own energy because it is so much more energy-efficient.

“It also sounds like a good economic investment and it shouldn’t take too long for them to pay back any initial outlay.”