In 2007, when Adair County farmer Randy Caviness rallied fellow Farm Bureau members into a group of local investors to embark on an experimental wind power generation project, he wasn’t sure where the wind would blow them.

That was 10 wind turbines ago. The latest effort, a 1.8 megawatt GE turbine just south of Anita, went online in June. Located near the Farmers Electric Cooperative Anita substation, the power is sold to Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) to be used by farms and homes in the Anita area.

The turbine joins nine similar projects in Adair and Cass counties, each its own limited liability company.

There are approximately 30 investors per turbine, with some owning shares in multiple ventures. In all, more than 200 individuals own the 10 turbines, the latest projects receiving an average 14 percent annual return on their investment.

The 10 turbines have a ...