Once again, locally-owned wind projects demonstrate success with expansion! The Windshare Cooperative is adding 10MW to its single turbine installation.

Wind energy cooperatives, common in Europe and becoming popular in Canada, are similar to the community wind model of development in the US. Due to legal issues of cooperative structures in the US, groups of individuals interested in owning shares of a wind farm form a private LLC instead of a cooperative.

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North America's first wind energy co-operative set to expand

Toronto – The builders of North America's first urban wind turbine, Windshare Cooperative, are set to develop the continent's first community based wind farm. At a General Meeting, members of WindShare voted overwhelmingly to proceed with a 10 megawatt wind turbine farm near Kincardine, Ontario.

WindShare's initial turbine at Toronto's ExPlace has had an enormous impact on Canada's wind industry. So much so that the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association was successful in using it to instigate major policy changes in Ontario. These changes now make it easier for co-operatives and community groups to develop renewable energy projects.

Lakewind, the new development, will be a joint venture with a rural community group, Countryside Energy Co-operative. "This will be a unique partnership connecting urbanites with the country to be part of the energy solution," said Evan Ferrari, President of WindShare.

"Our preference has always been to develop more wind turbines along the Toronto lakeshore. Unfortunately, that option isn't economically viable due to height restrictions related to the Toronto Island Airport" continued Mr. Ferrari. WindShare will be launching a campaign in the fall to encourage new members to join and invest in the Lakewind project.

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Contact:

Evan Ferrari, President, Windshare: (416) 971-9453 xt 43
Rebecca Black, Marketing, WindShare: (416) 977-5093

The WindShare Co-operative operates North America's first urban wind turbine in a joint venture with Toronto Hydro. With over 400 members, this for-profit co-op, now plans to use its first turbine at Toronto's CNE as a launching pad for investments into other wind projects. This will help provide renewable electricity to the people of Ontario through community ownership. www.windshare.ca

Ontario Sustainable Energy Association: OSEA is an umbrella organization established in 1999 to develop,
support and implement community-based sustainable energy projects across the province. and facilitate the
transition to a sustainable energy economy in Ontario. http://www.ontario-sea.org/