They stand along Interstate 90 in rural Kittitas County on the east side of the Cascades, the metal propellers spinning on each of the 149 towers at the Wild Horse Wind Farm.

It might be the only image of a wind turbine some South Kitsap High School students have seen.

But that will change next year as Chance Gower, career technical and education instructional specialist at South, was named Dec. 9 as one of 12 winners of the Office of Naval Research Sponsoring Scholars in Science Award.

In collaboration with Sara Hatfield and Mike Sheppard, career technical and education agriculture science teachers at South, Gower submitted a winning entry designed to “cultivate student interest and participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and engineers for the naval workforce,” according to a news release from the Office of Naval Research.

The grant money will be used to construct a wind turbine next to the greenhouse on campus. Hatfield said it will be 45 feet tall with 6-foot blades, which is substantially smaller than the ones featured in Central Washington.

She said work on obtaining a permit has started and she hopes to have construction finished by June. Hatfield said the location was selected based on student research about the most effective setting to place the wind turbine and because the site is a high-traffic area.

South principal Jerry Holsten, who praised the trio for developing the project, supports the plan to build the wind turbine in a central area of campus.

“It’s an outstanding discussion topic,” he said. “It’s something to be able to use to communication avenues to get people interested in those programs.”

It will become the latest renewable energy project on South’s campus. A previous grant enabled teachers to install three solar panels on top of the barn near the baseball field.

Hatfield, a 2001 South graduate, said the new project will enhance the already significant emphasis her Advanced Placement students spend on research about diminishing their carbon footprint. They now also will be able to make correlations between wind and solar energy and draw conclusions on which energy “is more effective.”

But Gower said the impact of the grant, which will fully fund the wind turbine, goes beyond the classroom.

“The Office of Naval Research is seeing less engineers going into the field and less scientists out there,” he said. “They kind of want to spark that interest — that era again where we go to the moon.”

Or at least to the top of the tower.

Hatfield said recent high school graduates have been hired to work as electricians at Wild Horse Wind Farm. While students will not be allowed to climb the tower and make physical adjustments, she said they will develop an understanding of how to do it.

For those not seeking to relocate to Central Washington, Gower said studying wind could provide some career opportunities locally.

“We’ve been talking with some engineers that are actually studying offshore wind power,” he said. “It really supports what we’re doing here within the community because that may be an engineer field they’re going to need.”

Gower said there is a shortage of engineers on the West Sound. Because of that, he said many are hired from out of state.

“We have a big attrition rate here,” Gower said. “They don’t like the weather here very much.”

They continue to look for ways to prepare students to step into some of those fields. While there are no plans to construct additional wind turbines at South, Hatfield said she is open to pursuing additional grants toward renewable-energy projects.

For now, she eagerly anticipates the culmination of the project.

“I have ideas about how it is going to fit into my curriculum now,” Hatfield said. “Once it gets started, it’s just going to expand into so much more.”