DEVELOPING A WIND FARM
A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO DEVELOPING A WIND FARM
A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO DEVELOPING A WIND FARM
1 Find a windy site. 
Horizon Wind Energy performs meteorological investigations all over the country and the world looking for sites where the average wind speed is appropriate for the turbines to be used.
2 Make sure the site has nearby transmission lines.
It’s not enough to find wind. There has to be a way to transport the electricity generated by a wind farm to a main power grid.
3 Define the boundaries.
After we find a windy place that’s near a power grid, we define the boundaries of the prospect area.
4 Determine who owns the land within the prospect boundaries.
The owners of the land within the prospect boundaries are our potential partners.
5 Contact the landowners.
In order to gauge interest in wind farm development, Horizon Wind Energy contacts the landowners about the possibility of a partnership.
6 Call a town meeting.
If there are many landowners in the same area, a town meeting helps us explain the ins and outs of wind farm royalty payments and natural resource management.
7 Settle the contracts.
Horizon Wind Energy and the landowners negotiate agreements for test towers and options for lease agreements.
8 Draw up blueprints.
Horizon Wind Energy lays out potential wind farm configurations to give landowners an idea of where the turbines might be placed.
9 Watch the wind.
Horizon Wind Energy monitors the wind for 6 months to 2 years to corroborate our data with publicly available wind data.
10 Get the necessary permits.
While testing the wind’s power, we’re also acquiring the necessary permits at the federal, state, and county levels.
11 Perform environmental analyses.
We want to ensure the safety of local wildlife and the environment. Horizon performs environmental analyses at every wind farm location.
12 Test the wires.
Testing grid connections is very important, so we perform additional transmission research.
13 Sell the electricity.
Selling wind generated electricity is the Holy Grail in our business. Because of the huge upfront cost, projects are feasible only after a customer, such as a large utility, has committed to a long-term energy purchase of 10 to 20 years in duration. Like just about all other wind energy companies, we cannot build our projects until we find a customer.
13 Begin construction.
The construction phase usually takes about 9 months to a year. Horizon works with landowners to minimize disturbance to the land. We build roads and erect turbines. We establish the electrical and engineering work to connect the turbines to the grid. Wind turbines and access roads occupy less than 3% of the land in a typical wind farm.