Lake Country Wind Energy and National Wind announce that nearly 25,000 acres of land have been secured for the project. The acres leased in Meeker and Kandiyohi Counties represent over three-quarters of the land needed to develop the 340 megawatt (MW) community-owned wind farm. The project's goal is to sign 30,000 acres.
With nearly 25,000 acres signed, Lake Country has made substantial progress since its formation in the summer of 2008. Field Specialist Jan Donahue was especially productive, signing over 13,000 acres in the past year. Currently Lake Country Wind Energy has just over 150 participating landowners.
"Lake Country has reached a number of important milestones over the past year," Donahue says. "The amount of acres signed is the obvious highlight, but no less important is that we've now collected over a year's worth of wind data from the footprint's meteorological tower. With that data, our wind assessments team will be able to place our turbines in the most efficient way possible."
Construction on the wind farm will take place over the course of 3-4 separate phases. The first of these phases is tentatively scheduled to go online in 2011. It is expected to deliver 40 MW of electricity to the grid and include 20, 2.05 megawatt REpower wind turbines. The project is continuing to reach out to landowners in the footprint, specifically in the townships of Acton, Swede Grove, Harrison, Gennessee, Green Lake, and Kandiyohi.
"Residents in the area have been very enthusiastic about Lake Country from the beginning," adds Donahue. "We appreciate both the great reception we've received and the continued support from the community. It's support like this that will bring Lake Country across the finish line."
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