Last month, High Country Energy encouraged more landowners to join our Board of Advisors. We opened two new spots on the board and advertised it to High Country members in the project footprint. Lisa Heggedahl of Hayfield Township and John Meyer of Rock Dell Township stepped up to run for those two slots.

The board has implemented a schedule to rotate out members once a year and fill the newly opened seats through an election. Each year, one or more board member(s) will retire their seats on the board. This will open up seats for new members and help keep fresh input on the board. This year, Kevin Green and Larry Larson have graciously given up their seats on the board. We wish them the best and we’re sure to keep receiving invaluable feedback from them as continued members of High Country Energy.

Lisa and John will join me and five other community members who serve on the High Country Energy Board of Advisors. The mission of the board is to make the development process possible by encouraging local support. All eight of us are committed to bringing clean, renewable energy to Dodge and Olmsted Counties.

However, we don’t just want to bring wind turbines to our area. We want to share in the economic benefits of the booming wind industry and we want as many people in the area to benefit as possible.
National Wind, our project manager, bases every project around open communication and local participation. High Country Energy is no exception. We incorporate landowner representation as part of our business structure and maintain it as one of the most important facets of our wind project.

We strongly believe that the input we get from landowners facilitates the development process and helps High Country meet our community development goals. The board has always been dedicated to working with landowners and getting them aware of and involved with the project. We look forward to continuing our work with Sherm and John on the board.

Read more stories from the Fall 2008 newsletter