Wind Capital Group was a wind power developer founded in 2005 by Missouri native Tom Carnahan.Wind Capital Group timeline
/ref>

Developed wind farms

Blue Grass Ridge Wind Farm

On January 31, 2006, Wind Capital Group announced the planned construction of Blue Grass Ridge Wind Farm near King City in Gentry County, Missouri. Construction of the 27 Suzlon wind turbines began in late 2006 and completed in 2007. Financing was provided by

John Deere Deere & Company, doing business as John Deere (), is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains (axles, transmissions, gearboxes) used in heavy equipment, ...

. Blue Grass Ridge is the first commercial scale wind farm in Missouri. The wind energy produced is purchased by Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.North American Wind Power
/ref>

Conception Wind Farm

In early 2008 the Conception Wind Farm was completed. Conception is near Conception Junction in Nodaway County, Missouri. Like Blue Grass Ridge before it, Conception was constructed with Suzlon turbines, financed by John Deere, and the power is sold to Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Cow Branch Wind Energy Center

Also in 2008, the Cow Branch Wind Energy Center began operations. Cow Branch is near Tarkio in Atchison County, Missouri. This wind farm was also constructed with Suzlon turbines, financed by John Deere, and sells power to Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Loess Hills Wind Farm

The Loess Hills Wind Farm was completed in the spring of 2008. This wind farm is much smaller than Wind Capital Group's three other operating wind farms in northwest Missouri. Nevertheless, Loess Hills garnered national and international attention because it produces more power for the town of Rock Port than the town and its residents use.National Public Radio article
/ref> Therefore, Rock Port has been called the first 100% wind powered town in America. The Loess Hills Wind Farm has been featured on National Public Radio, CNN, ABC World News Tonight, and the International Herald Tribune.
/ref>ABC World News Tonight story
/ref>International Herald Tribune article
/ref>

Lost Creek Ridge Wind Farm

In April 2009, Wind Capital Group announced that the Lost Creek Wind Farm was to be built south of the Blue Grass Ridge Wind Farm in DeKalb County, Missouri. Vice President Joe Biden and Commerce Secretary

Gary Locke Gary Faye Locke (born January 21, 1950) is an American politician and diplomat serving as the interim president of Bellevue College, the largest of the institutions that make up the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system. Locke se ...

were on hand at the announcement in Jefferson City, Missouri. Lost Creek Ridge will have a 150 megawatt nameplate capacity.Irish Times article
/ref> The project received $107 million in

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...

funds. The project became a campaign issue in the United States Senate election in Missouri, 2010 when

Roy Blunt Roy Dean Blunt (born January 10, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator for Missouri, a seat he was first elected to in 2010. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 33rd Missouri Secr ...

charged that Tom Carnahan through his sister Robin Carnahan had used family connections to get the funds. The Carnahans deny their family connections played a role in the federal renewable energy grant. Lost Creek was put up for sale in 2014, along with the Post Rock wind farm, and eventually sold to Pattern Energy.

Buffalo Creek Wind Farm

In December 2007 Wind Capital Group announced the sale of the Buffalo Creek Wind Farm near the town of Latimer in Franklin County, Iowa. The construction ready site was purchased by Interstate Power and Light, with the first 100 megawatts planned to be constructed by 2010.Alternative Energy Press article
/ref>

Bent Tree Wind Farm

In March 2009 Wind Capital Group announced the sale of their second wind farm outside of Missouri. At 400 megawatts, Bent Tree is Wind Capital Group's largest developed wind farm to date. Wisconsin Power and Light Company purchased the wind farm and intends to begin construction on the first 200 megawatts in mid-2009.Finance and Commerce article
/ref> Bent Tree is located near Hartland in Freeborn County, Minnesota.

Post Rock Wind Farm

The Post Rock Wind Farm is a 201 megawatt in Ellsworth and Lincoln counties of Kansas. Operation in 2012, selling all of its electricity to Westar Energy under a 20-year

power purchase agreement A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...

. The windfarm was financed by

GE Capital GE Capital is the financial services division of General Electric. The company currently only runs one division, GE Energy Financial Services. It had provided additional services in the past; however, those units were sold between 2013 and 2018. ...

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...

, and Union Bank and uses 134 GE turbines. Post Rock was put up for sale in 2014, along with the Lost Creek wind farm, and eventually sold to Pattern Energy.

Partnership

In early 2008 Wind Capital Group formed a partnership with NTR plc. NTR invested $150 million into the company and also committed to supply Wind Capital Group with 150 megawatts of wind turbines. NTR was then the majority owner of the company.St. Louis Business Journal article
/ref> The relationship with NTR ended with Wind Capital selling the Post Rock and Lost Creek wind farms to Pattern Energy in 2015 for $244 million.

Status

In 2014 Wind Capital Group announced that would be winding down development operations as parent NTR focused on Europe.

References

External links

WebsiteAssociated Electric Cooperative, Inc.
{{Wind power in the United States Wind power companies of the United States Wind power in Missouri Organizations established in 2005 2005 establishments in Missouri