Large, Minnesota Community-Owned Wind Farm Development, High Country Energy, Announces Opening of Kasson Office

Kasson, MN- December 8th, 2008- High Country Energy, LLC, along with its manager National Wind, LLC, announces today the opening of an office in Kasson, Minnesota. This new office will allow High Country Energy to better address the growing demand for local involvement in their wind farm development, along with improving services to the current 190 local participating residents.

High Country Energy, LLC formed in 2007, is developing over 300 megawatts of community-owned wind energy projects in Dodge, Olmsted, and Mower Counties, Minnesota. Participating residents reside in the communities of Rochester, Austin, Hayfield, Kasson, Sargeant, Byron, and Dodge Center. Missy Kelley and Dan Hemmingsen, field specialists for High Country Energy, will be working out of the new office, helping facilitate landowner participation in this development.

"As a locally-owned wind farm company, we want our development to become a positive, permanent part of the community,” says Hemmingsen. “And as our wind project progresses, we want to continue to provide the best possible support and services to our participating members. Our new office allows us to do just that. Local landowners now have an easily accessible place to go if they have questions or if they need to make an appointment."

The Kasson office is located at 122 West Main Street and its winter hours are Monday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm.

Also, because we are a locally-owned wind development, we want our project members and the local community to be “in the know” about the progress we are making,” says Kelley. “Therefore, our office will serve as a local, informational resource for anybody that is interested in knowing more about our project and what community wind is all about." Communication is key to developing a project that works for the local area.”

To learn more about the project or to make an appointment with Dan or Missy, please call the local office at 507-634-6993. Please visit http://www.highcountryenergy.com for more information.

About High Country Energy, LLC: High Country Energy, LLC is a Community-Based Energy Development (C-BED) company located in Dodge, Olmsted, and Mower Counties, Minnesota. Our company exists to develop and produce over 300 megawatts of wind energy projects wich are sustainable, generational and environmentally responsible. The company's financial commitment is to assure a majority of the development proceeds are shared with the surrounding community. Please visit www.highcountryenergy.com for more information.

About National Wind LLC: National Wind is the leader in developing utility-scale (50 megawatts or larger) community wind energy projects. We form powerful community wind energy partnerships with property owners, assuring that our projects’ economic benefits are shared with the surrounding community. National Wind is developing 12 large wind energy developments, representing 3,658 megawatts. We also have an additional 1,500 megawatts in advanced feasibility stages. National Wind’s projects are located in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota South Dakota, and Colorado, and the company is exploring expansion opportunities in other states. Please visit www.nationalwind.com for more information.