The sun was shining bright and the wind blew strong on Sept. 17, when Missouri's electric cooperatives gathered to dedicate the first commercial wind farm in the state.

All day long the wind blew. It bent stalks of corn waiting to be harvested. It blew dust on the polished shoes of U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan. It ruffled hair of U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan. It shook the sides of a tent, scattered papers and sent hats flying.

Outside, Tom Carnhan commented: “Isn’t the wind wonderful?” Those gathered around him could only grin and agree.

Above him, and no matter where one gazed on the horizon, great machines gathered the wind blowing across this section of northwest Missouri and magically turned it into electricity. As their 140-foot blades turned in rhythmic precision, they emitted a gentle “whoop, whoop whoop.”

That sound was accented by a giant transformer inside a fenced substation. The humming of the transformer signaled the energy created by these machines was on its way across Missouri, where it would power coffee pots, heat water, charge cell phones and light the way for rural Missourians who get their energy from electric cooperatives.

The cause for the gathering was the dedication of Missouri’s first wind energy farm. The wind farm, called Bluegrass Ridge, is located in Gentry County north of King City. Two additional facilities, the Cow Branch and Conception wind farms, are located in Atchison and Nodaway counties, respectively. These facilities, developed by Tom Carnahan’s Wind Capital Group with financing by John Deere Wind Energy, are expected to be complete by year-end 2007. Combined, the three wind farms will be capable of producing 157 megawatts, enough clean, renewable power for about 45,000 homes.

Barry Hart, CEO of the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives, explains how the electric cooperatives made wind energy possible to U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan and his sister, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, during the Bluegrass Ridge dedication ceremony.

For those gathered at the site Sept. 17, the dedication signaled a dream come true. “There was a view at one time that Missouri didn’t have viable wind sites,” said Jim Jura, CEO of Associated Electric Cooperative, the wholesale supplier of electricity to most of Missouri’s electric cooperatives.

“It’s a remarkable testament to Tom Carnahan, to John Deere and to the co-op organization and everybody who worked on this that we have viable projects that are bringing renewable wind energy to our homes and farms across the state of Missouri,” Jura said.

Stepping up as the first Missouri utility to purchase home-grown wind power, Associated will buy for 20 years all the electricity produced by the three wind farms.

Added Jura, “This is the first wind energy that we’re bringing into our system, and we’re very excited about it. The biggest challenge for our system is how do we meet our load growth, and we’re looking at a wide range of activities and generation resources, as well as other demand-side resources such as energy efficiency, to meet those demands.”

Missouri-based wind power provides a reasonably priced, green and renewable source of electricity; displaces more expensive natural-gas-based generation; spurs economic growth in rural Missouri; and helps meet growing electricity needs among cooperative members. Landowners who provided the tower sites receive lease payments, providing them with another “crop” while still allowing them to farm right up to the base of the giant towers.

Forecasts show continued growth of about 100 megawatts per year for the next 10 years among Associated’s member systems, the equivalent of adding about 30,000 homes annually.

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill told the crowd that projects such as Bluegrass Ridge show the state can harness “nature’s blessings” for energy independence.

The accomplishment of bringing on-line Missouri’s first wind energy represents a “win-win-win-win-win” for the state of Missouri, said keynote speaker McCaskill. “One of the biggest problems facing this country is the source of our energy. I can’t tell you how important it is for the next generation and the generation after that in this wonderful land we call Missouri to be able to look out and realize we can harness our energy from nature’s blessings.”

For Tom Carnahan, one highlight of the effort was when he first walked the fields with the landowners. “Anyone who has been involved with a project like this knows that, when given a choice, you always benefit from choosing the high ground. That’s what we are all about here today. It doesn’t matter if it’s the landowners, investors, public officials, utilities or environmental activists. We’re all here because we know the promise of wind energy will lead us to the higher ground.”

He recognized the many landowners who made the project possible, citing their desire to do something good for the King City area. The Bluegrass Ridge project will be one of the county’s largest taxpayers. He also thanked the electric cooperatives for their vision in providing the final piece of the puzzle, a buyer for the electricity.

“They understood that energy diversity and protecting the environment was something that was important to their members and important to this country. Instead of just talking about it like so many people do, they decided to do something about it.”