Putting to shame what residents of my last neighborhood ever worked on together, a coalition of Iowans has gone in together on the purchase of wind turbines for their local community.

180 community members in southwestern Iowa bought shares in eight wind turbines as part of a 12.6-MW wind initiative put together by Green Energy Farmers. Two GE 1.5-MW turbines were previously installed and the group just completed the purchase of an additional six GE 1.6-82.5 turbines for the project. The eight units will generate electricity for the towns of Greenfield and Fontanelle as well as some additional rural communities in the area.

Three substations of the local utility co-op Farmers Electric Cooperative will purchase the energy generated by the wind turbines for the community, and any remaining power will be picked up by regional utility Central Iowa Power Cooperative. For the next ten years, each turbine provides property tax incentives, tax credits, and land lease payments worth $1.08 million per year for the shareholders.

“When we developed our business model, it was critical that we select the right project partner and technology supplier to help us implement our project for the benefit of all project investors, as well as the communities where we live,” said Randy Caviness, president of Green Energy Farmers.

General Electric will provide maintenance support for the project.

According to the Iowa Wind Energy Association, there are nearly 2,900 utility-scale wind turbines throughout the state, with 4,495-MW of installed capacity generating 20% of all the electricity in the state. The state aims to have 20,000 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity within the next 20 years. Having driven across Iowa just a few months ago, I can attest to the fact that they must be one of the largest producers of wind energy in the country, as oftentimes as far as the eye can see the land is covered with turbines.

Let’s hope that more locally-focused residents learn from what this group of Iowans is doing and start investing in their own clean energy technologies as well. Sometimes, you have to take matters into your hands when you want the right thing done for your community.

Image Credit: TimWilson/Flickr