The McKnight Foundation and the San Francisco-based Energy Foundation are the primary sponsors of the project, which is a partnership of the business community, local leaders, clean energy advocates and wind energy experts.
Wind power is a reliable, affordable and pollution-free source of energy.
It promises to be a high-growth business that offers opportunities to further diversify our rural economy. This region is rich in wind resources with five of the top ten windiest states in the country in the Upper Midwest. The roads for electricity are transmission wires connecting windy areas to power consumers. Opening up these roads to market will be the primary focus of this project. To move wind power to large markets such as the Twin Cities, Chicago, Des Moines and St. Louis, our top priority must be to remove the physical bottlenecks of the current power grid and upgrade the system.