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St. Olaf College – Wind Turbine

St. Olaf College - Wind Turbine Erection of Blades by Two Boldt Cranes. Boldt Employee in Foreground Guiding Lift

In an effort to follow their sustainable mission and find ways to minimize their impact on the environment, St. Olaf College sought out a grant from Xcel Energy to fund the installation of a wind turbine on campus.

Boldt was on the preconstruction team for four months prior to commencing work. During that time, Boldt provided conceptual budgets, bankable estimate, detailed construction scheduling, development of bid packages for competitive bidding, site-specific safety plan, constructability reviews, value engineering and pre-qualification of specialty subcontractors.

The 1.5 megawatt Vestas Wind Systems turbine was installed atop a tower that stands 70 meters tall. Boldt self-performed the concrete foundations, crane support for off-loading, crane support for erection, and millwrights for the tower and turbine erection.

Client

St. Olaf College

Location
Northfield, Minnesota
Architect/Engineer

Barr Engineering

Boldt Role
  • General Contractor
  • Self-perform Construction
Project Type
New Construction
Project Size
1.5MW

MARKET
Renewable Energy
Education

Project Highlights

  • The tower’s foundation required 400 yards of concrete, 32 tons rebar and 160 anchor bolts.
  • The completed wind turbine stands 350 feet high and includes a 230-foot tower and three blades measuring 125 feet in length.