National Wind, LLC has partnered with the local communities in eastern Dodge and western Olmsted counties to form High Country Energy… a partnership that will create the nation’s largest community-owned wind energy project.

A press release from the company web site says National Wind will manage the development and construction of a 300 megawatt wind farm in conjunction with the local communities:

“We are grateful to the community for their strong local support of this project and to the local landowners who have decided to partner with us,” said Pat Pelstring, co-founder and chairperson of National Wind. “This is a ground-breaking community-owned project because it compares in size to some of the nation’s largest utility projects.”

“This allows the project to take advantage of economies of scale not normally available to community-owned projects. It is owned by the local community with significant financial returns for the local community.”

Company officials say Minnesota’s New Generation Energy Act of 2007 has created the incentives to help make this happen. The project will return 51 percent of its profits back to the local communities. It will also help Minnesota reach its 25 percent electricty from renewable sources goal by 2025.