KIRKSVILLE - Representatives from Trade Wind Energy met with the Adair County Commission Wednesday to discuss a prospective wind electricity project in the northeastern part of the county.

The group is looking at the Shuteye Creek area for the wind farm, which encompasses parts of Sullivan, Putnam and Adair counties. The project would cover nearly 60,000 acres of land with more than 25 percent located in Adair. The boundary could not be defined at the time of the meeting due to privacy clauses.

Project Manager Rod Northway says the exact scale of the plan has yet to be determined, but could be upwards of a $300 million investment in the area.

"We're developing the project to accommodate up to 400-500 megawatts," he said. "Exactly how many megawatts will be placed in each county will be dependent on the market and driven by our customers."

The project is far from a finished deal as the group is also shopping for electrical companies.

While the system was designed with Ameren UE in mind, representatives said Wednesday the deal could go to any Midwest power company.

Northway met with county officials to discuss issues of road right-of-way and maintenance agreements. Trade Wind would become responsible for road maintenance during the construction of the towers, including bridge enhancements to deliver equipment. All of the repairs would be within Missouri Department of Transportation specifications.

Over the past four months, Trade Wind Energy has been in talks with private land owners to lease parts of the area to erect wind towers. Northway says the group has only encountered one land owner along the prospective path who has not made a decision. If construction is ready to begin, the county, or even the state of Missouri, may have to step in and forcefully acquire the land through eminent domain.

However, all other private easements are in the process of being secured, according to Northway.

The easements are used to connect the project area to the local substation, which is currently operated by Ameren.

The farm would create 10-20 jobs in Adair County with salaries near $60,000. All jobs would include benefits and the construction phase would boost the local economy.

Trade Wind is also finalizing the amount of taxes the wind farm would pay with the county.

Officials are looking for competitive rates among bordering states.

Another meeting has been scheduled with the Commission May 19 and Northway adds the group will have negotiations with the county on how to proceed.