National Wind has announced its partnership with landowners in Sedgwick, Phillips, and Logan Counties in Colorado, to form and capitalize NECO Wind. NECO Wind, which stands for Northeast Colorado Wind, will construct 400 megawatts (MW) or more of wind energy generation facilities under the management of National Wind.

When complete, it is expected this project will produce enough electricity to power approximately 120,000 homes and is anticipated to be one of the largest wind projects in Colorado. NECO Wind will be the second wind energy project in Colorado under National Wind's management.

NECO Wind has also formed an advisory board composed of area landowners. The advisory board plays an integral role in the development process, acting as a liaison between the community and NECO Wind.

To provide further community contact, NECO Wind has opened an office in Julesburg and hired local field specialists, Janan "JJ" Jones, Kirsten Muncy and Jerry Keintz, to work with landowners to inform them about the wind project.

"We've been trying to start a community wind project in the area for a while now," says Lyle Blochowitz, NECO Wind Advisory Board Vice-Chair. "With National Wind as our manager, we benefit from their project development experience, but we're also able to maintain local participation and ownership in the project."

"NECO Wind's community-based wind model provides many benefits to area landowners and the local economy," says Bruce Rosenbach, NECO Wind Advisory Board Chair. "We expect a substantial share of the project's potential development proceeds to stay in the community."

"In addition to working to keep potential financial benefits local, we strive to maintain open communication and landowner representation as core components of the community model," adds Pat Pelstring, Co-Chair of National Wind.

"Northeast Colorado landowners will help guide the development process through regular advisory board meetings, landowner forums, and other discussions. The community has a say and a stake in the project. That's why community wind projects have such strong local support."

National Wind is currently managing and developing ten large-scale community wind projects in the Upper Midwest and Plains States. If these projects, including NECO Wind, are completed and start operating, they could fulfill the electricity needs of nearly one million average American homes.