ALLETE Clean Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE, in partnership with five other entities, announced its contribution of $105,000 in grants to the Roff, Sulphur and Tishomingo school districts near the company’s 303-MW Diamond Spring wind site in Mill Creek, Oklahoma. The wind site supplies Walmart, Starbucks and Smithfield Foods with renewable energy.
The grants will be used for pandemic-related expenses related to remote learning and safety. The money will go toward computers and internet access and personal protective equipment for students and school staff. Superintendents for the school districts say the monies will make a meaningful impact.
ALLETE Clean Energy donated $73,000 for the three school district grants. The additional partners include: Oklahoma City-based law firm Crowe and Dunlevy; Los Angeles-based law firm Sheppard Mullin; Kansas City, MO-based construction engineering firm Burns and McDonnell; renewable developer Apex Clean Energy; and Red Hot Construction, a subcontractor at the Diamond Spring wind site.
“Schools and the children they serve are hit especially hard during COVID-19. Families cannot always cover the expenses that support effective remote learning, and schools can’t cover the same expenses for their teachers,” said ALLETE Clean Energy President Allan S. Rudeck Jr. “Safety is one of ALLETE Clean Energy’s core values, and we consider grants to help keep students and staff safer at home as a meaningful way we can help right now. We always strive to work with our partners to promote healthy communities and donate to communities near our wind sites, and we appreciate their shared values and support to help make a difference.”
“In these uncertain times, when we have had to completely revamp how we deliver educational opportunities to our students, these extra funds have gone a long way to help provide things like Chromebooks and software licenses,” said Scott Morgan, Superintendent of Roff School District.
A previous ALLETE Clean Energy $50,000 grant in August to the Mill Creek School District near Diamond Spring, in partnership with GE Renewable Energy and Wanzek, the engineering, procurement and construction contractor at Diamond Spring, helped the school district purchase about 70 iPads for students and 16 laptops for teachers for remote learning.
