Other schools have done it!

Schools across the country have already discovered the economic and energy productivity of a wind turbine. Carleton College, located in Western Minnesota, purchased a 1.65MW (Mega-Watt) turbine for their site and installed it in 2005. The full cost of the project cost $1.8 million, part of which was funded by a $150,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The power produced by the turbine is connected to Xcel’s energy grid. The annual estimated output of the 1.65MW turbine is 5,000,000kWh (kilowatt hours). Xcel buys the energy from the turbine at 3.3 cents per kWh and their is an additional state production incentive of 1.5 cents. Their turbine will be completely paid off after a time period of 10 years.6 In Portsmouth, Rhode Island there is a 1.5MW turbine on the campus of the local high school, which was erected in March of 2009. The estimated annual output is about 3 million kWh. The municipal electrical consumption of the town is about 4 million kWh. Over a lifespan of 20 years it is expected to return around $4 million to the town, although even this estimate is conservative since most turbines have an expected lifespan of 20-30 years. There are local wind turbines as well: Bureau Valley High School in Bureau County, IL installed a wind turbine in 2004 to power their facilities and in Pike County, IL the Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative purchased a 1.65MW turbine.

St. Olaf Wind turbine