Local Landowner Joins the Advisory Board of High Country Energy, LLC, the Nation’s Largest Community-Owned Wind Project

Dodge and Olmsted Counties, Minn. - November 14, 2007 – High Country Energy, LLC, announced today that Dana Christie, a local landowner and farmer, will join the company’s Advisory Board for the nation’s largest planned (Community-Based-Energy-Development) C-BED wind project. Christie has farmed in the Olmsted and Dodge County area for the past 30 years and will serve as an additional community representative on the board. Christie will help the board advise and inform landowners on issues involved in the community wind development process.

One of High Country Energy, LLC’s objectives is to keep a majority of the project’s economic benefits in the community. This 300 megawatt (MW) project is located in Dodge and Olmsted Counties, Minnesota and will be developed in several phases.

"We are excited to have Dana Christie on our advisory board, and feel it is very important to have local farmers such as Dana more involved in this process," says Patrick Pelstring, director and co-chair of National Wind. "Christie understands all the issues and concerns local landowners have when it comes to developing a wind farm and will help us be effective in addressing all these issues."

National Wind initially partnered with seven community members, Barry Rogne, Dan Hoffman, Ken Binkley, Kevin Green, Bryant Hokeness, Larry Larson, and Eric Lee early this year to form High Country Energy, LLC. These seven founding members are all on the High Country Energy Advisory Board and they have invested in the development along with their managing partner and wind farm developer, National Wind, LLC.

"I like the concept of local ownership in the nation’s largest community-owned wind project," says Dana Christie. "And being a local landowner, I am concerned about other landowners, large and small, having their voices heard during and after the development process. I also want to see our neighborhood remain neighborly after construction. We need to look at sources of power other than oil for the future."

High Country Energy, LLC plans to be operational by 2010, and offers landowners several ownership options of how to get involved in the project beyond simply having a turbine lease on their property. The High Country Energy Board holds monthly meetings to discuss the project’s progress and works closely with the landowners throughout every stage of the development process.