In 2005 St. Olaf became the first liberal arts college in the nation to construct a utility-grade wind turbine for the sole purpose of providing energy to the campus (Carleton College was the first to construct a turbine, but the electricity it produces is sold to an energy company and added to the general power grid).
St. Olaf College’s 1.65 megawatt self-generating wind turbine directly supplies nearly 20 percent of the electricity used by the college.