First Wind, an independent developer of wind power in North America, today announced the launch of First Wind Scholars, a scholarship program designed to support high school students in southern Utah who display strong potential for a successful college experience, as well as interest in the environment, energy and the sciences. The first one-time $3,000 scholarship will be made available to a student in Beaver and Millard County, Utah, where First Wind is building its 203 MW Milford Wind Corridor project.
“We are pleased to announce the First Wind Scholars program and we are happy to make our first scholarship available to a student in a community that is currently benefiting from our Milford Wind project,” said Carol Grant, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at First Wind. “The Milford project will be First Wind’s largest project to date, so it’s a great place to start a scholarship program. Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders, and we hope that this program will encourage and reward students who share our commitment to renewable energy as we work toward achieving greater energy independence for our nation.”
The First Wind Scholars program will be currently open to high school seniors from Beaver and Millard County, who have achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher and plan to engage in a full-time undergraduate course of the study of the earth and/or environmental sciences, technology or engineering. Applications are open and available online as of today with all submissions due by November 1, 2009. Judging will be based on a number of factors, including academic performance, standardized test scores, community service activity and a 300-word essay on a given topic. The selected student and $3,000 scholarship recipient will be announced in mid-December 2009.
“We appreciate First Wind’s commitment to the community, and the Milford Wind project has become a source of pride for Beaver and Millard County,” said John Nielsen, principal at Milford High School in Milford, Utah. “We are excited that First Wind has selected our community as the first for its new scholarship program, and we know it will greatly benefit one of our high school students, many of which have already been inspired by this project.”
“This is a great opportunity for students in Milford and Southern Utah to get engaged in renewable energy,” said Dana Miller, President of South West Applied Technology College in Cedar City, Utah. “I predict the scholarship program will plant the seeds for a generation of workers in renewable energy. We’re delighted that First Wind is such a great partner in the community and we’re looking forward to working with them as we develop a wind farm construction program and a training program for technicians who maintain the wind projects.”
The Milford Wind Corridor Project will generate up to 203 MW of clean energy upon its completion, making it one of the largest renewable energy facilities in Utah and the largest wind energy farm in the state. It will feature 97 total wind turbines. Construction of this project is expected to be completed by November 2009.
To get more information on this program or to complete an application, students can visit www.firstwind.com/scholarships.
About First Wind
First Wind is an independent North American wind energy company focused exclusively on the development, ownership and operation of wind energy projects. First Wind is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts. For more information on First Wind, please visit www.firstwind.com or follow us on Twitter @FirstWind.
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For more information, contact:
John Lamontagne
First Wind
Director, Communications
617-964-3340
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