First Wind Announces First Recipient of Scholarship Program

First Wind, an independent United States wind energy company, today announced that Kelsey Mitchell, a senior at Millard High School in Fillmore, Utah, is the first recipient of its First Wind Scholars program.

Launched in October 2009, First Wind Scholars is designed to support local high school students that display strong potential for a successful college experience, as well as interest in the environment, energy or the sciences. Ms. Mitchell will receive a $3,000 scholarship that she can apply toward her tuition at Southern Utah University, where she will begin her studies in Forensic Science this fall.

“We are very happy to recognize Kelsey as the first recipient of our First Wind Scholars program,” said Carol Grant, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at First Wind. “Millard and Beaver counties are hosts to our largest and newest wind power project, and it is there that we have launched this program. It was the ingenuity shown by a local teacher and his students that played a big role in making the Milford Wind Corridor a reality in the first place. This scholarship represents our support for young people who show interest in and the capacity to contribute in the fields of environment, energy and science.”

Ms. Mitchell and a number of other applicants from Millard and Beaver counties went through a rigorous application process. She was selected based on a number of factors, including: academic performance, standardized test scores, community service activity and a 300-word essay. Ms. Mitchell has been a leader both inside the classroom as well as outside where she has been active in student government, athletics, the National Honor Society, and the Governor’s Youth Council.

“We congratulate Kelsey and we are very proud that one of our students was the first to receive this scholarship,” said Dennis Alldredge, Principal at Millard High School. “Kelsey is a terrific young woman with a great future ahead of her. We are confident she will continue to do an excellent job of representing the many other students and people of Millard and Beaver County that have been inspired by the Milford Wind project.”

Located in Millard and Beaver counties, the 204 MW first phase of the Milford Wind Power Corridor project began commercial operation in November 2009. Featuring 97 total wind turbines, this wind farm has the capacity to generate clean, renewable energy to power approximately 45,000 homes per year. The project to date has created more than 250 development and construction jobs, and resulted in more than $85 million in economic benefit to Utah.

First Wind is an independent wind energy company exclusively focused on the development, financing, construction, ownership and operation of utility-scale wind projects in the United States. Based in Boston, First Wind has wind power projects in the Northeast, the West and in Hawaii, generating a combined 478 megawatts of power. 

www.firstwind.com 

www.firstwind.com/scholarships