Associated Electric Cooperative, who led the effort to build the wind farm, will purchase entire output of the Bluegrass Ridge wind farm, along with the output of two other farms.

On September 17, Congressman Russ Carnahan, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan joined Jim Jura, CEO of Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. (AECI), to dedicate Missouri’s first wind farm located in Gentry County.

“There was a view at one time that Missouri didn’t have viable wind sites,” said Jura. “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.

Through its leadership, AECI is the first to bring utility-scale wind power to Missouri, where most of its members live and work. The Bluegrass Ridge Wind Farm in King City is the first of the three 50-MW wind projects. The second project, Cow Branch Wind Project, is in Rock Port and the third, Conception Wind Project, is in Conception.

The three sites combined will be capable of producing 157 MW, enough clean, renewable power for about 45,000 homes.

In 2006 AECI won the Wind Cooperative of the Year award given by the U.S. Department of Energy, NRECA and the Cooperative Research Network. The Springfield-based utility has committed to 156 MW of wind power from three different wind projects in northwest Missouri. AECI has partnered with Wind Capital and John Deere Corp. to develop the project.