On December 3, 2008, Goodhue Wind held a landowner meeting at the Goodhue Lions Club. Landowners in our project footprint and the surrounding area were invited to attend and learn more about Goodhue Wind and the advantages of our community-based approach to wind development. The meeting was a great success, with over 75 area landowners and community members in attendance.
At the meeting, our development team, field specialists, and founding board members gave short presentations to introduce themselves and Goodhue Wind’s community model. In addition to covering the basics of community wind, the team introduced National Wind, the project manager. Based in Minneapolis, National Wind manages and develops utility-scale community-based wind projects across the Midwest and Plains states.
The Jeffers Wind Energy Center in Cottonwood County, MN, is a 50 MW project developed by the founders of National Wind and is currently up and operating. Two other development projects – M-Power in North Dakota and NorthStar in Iowa – are to be constructed in 2009 and will add over 400 megawatts to National Wind’s development portfolio. With thirteen project families in development or operation, National Wind brings the project management experience needed to successfully develop Goodhue Wind’s 78 MW wind project.
At the meeting, there was also a lot of talk about wind turbines and general wind information. Standing almost 400 feet tall, wind turbines are without question a change to the horizon – and these changes are certainly on the horizon. According to Minnesota’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) law, Minnesota utilities must acquire 25% of the electricity they sell to consumers from renewable sources by 2025. Xcel Energy, the state’s largest electric utility company, faces tougher standards and must acquire 25% of its retail electricity sales from wind energy by 2020. The Goodhue Wind’s project will help the state’s utilities meet this mandate.
The specifics of Goodhue Wind’s lease piqued the interest of many in the crowd and also raised a number of clarifying questions. Following a group question-and-answer session, the meeting wrapped up with informal discussions between landowners and Goodhue Wind representatives. After the meeting, the crowd was still buzzing about all the information presented that evening and many landowners left the building talking about the future of the project.
