Bird Island, Minn. – July 28, 2009 – Norfolk Wind Energy passed an important milestone in developing its community-owned wind energy project in Renville County when the total acreage of land signed to the project surpassed 5,000 acres. With community support and interest growing steadily over the first six months of development work, many landowners have chosen to become partners in the venture by signing up their land with the project. If progress continues as planned, the Norfolk project will supply enough electricity to power roughly 12,000 homes with 40 megawatts of clean renewable energy.
With 5,000 acres signed, the majority of the land needed to construct the wind farm has been acquired, but additional landowner involvement is still necessary. “We’ve made some terrific progress and gained the support of some very enthusiastic people,” says field specialist, Brian Stewart, from the Norfolk Wind Energy office at 200 Main Street #2 in Bird Island. “However,” he continues, “we’re still looking to get more landowners to participate. The potential benefits that wind energy can provide to this community are enormous, both from an economic and an environmental standpoint, and those benefits will only increase as landowner involvement expands.”
David Scheibel, a Norfolk Wind Energy founder, also voices positive feedback. “We’ve found that many people have been very receptive to the idea of wind power bringing a new source of energy and revenue into the area. Our site control effort was launched only a few months ago and to have signed 5,000 acres of land in such a short period of time is a sign of overwhelming public support.”
Beyond the early success securing acres for the project, Norfolk Wind Energy has made significant advances on the wind farm development. In April, National Wind Assessments erected a meteorological tower at a representative site in the project footprint. The tower will collect local wind data that will help National Wind Assessments determine optimal placement of the 20 to 26 wind turbines that will harness the wind’s power and generate electricity.
More information about Renville County’s large-scale community wind project is available online at www.norfolkwindenergy.com.
About Norfolk Wind Energy, LLC:
Norfolk Wind Energy, LLC, is a community-owned wind company located in Renville County, Minnesota. Norfolk Wind Energy intends to develop and produce 40 megawatts of community-owned wind energy projects that are sustainable and environmentally responsible. The company’s financial commitment is to assure that a portion of the project’s development proceeds are shared with it local investors, landowners, and the surrounding community. Please visit www.norfolkwindenergy.com for more information.
About National Wind, LLC:
National Wind is the leader in developing utility-scale (50 megawatts or larger) community wind energy projects. National Wind and its subsidiary, Wind Energy Developers, LLC, have 12 families of projects in development or operation, with an aggregate nameplate capacity of more than 3,000 megawatts. National Wind projects are located across the Midwest and Plains states, and the company is exploring expansion opportunities in other parts of the United States. Please visit www.nationalwind.com for more information.