One of the largest wind farms in the country will soon be climbing above the horizon in central Benton County.

The Fowler Ridge Wind Farm project is a partnership between BP Alternative Energy and Dominion, one of the nation's largest energy companies.

The first phase will feature 222 windmills, generating 400 megawatts of power.

They will join the 87 windmills already operating in the western portion of Benton County, which was a joint venture between Orion Energy and Vision Energy, LLC.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky and other officials celebrated the start of construction on the $1 billion project Thursday.

In a speech to residents, local officials and state lawmakers, Daniels emphasized the need for Indiana to keep pushing to be a leader in renewable energy.

"This is not some token, small, symbolic project," Daniels said. "... Today is a big deal, way beyond the boundaries of this county."

With several other wind farms in exploratory phases around the state, Daniels and others hope the Benton County projects signal a trend.

Environmentalists have been pushing the state to stimulate investment in renewable energy technology by requiring Indiana's energy companies to purchase or generate a minimum amount of their energy from renewable sources.

The General Assembly has struggled the past three years to find agreement on how to do that.

Proposals this past session would have required anywhere from 6 to 12 percent of a utility's energy to be from renewable sources by 2020 or 2025, but none made it out of the legislature.

Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ogden Dunes, said she's getting impatient waiting for the House to send a bill over.

"We need to get this done," Tallian said. "I think the Senate should just write its own."

Jesse Kharbanda, executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council, said such a standard would raise energy costs for residents by 2 to 4 percent.

However, if Congress were to regulate carbon emissions through a cap and trade system, as is supported by all three remaining presidential candidates, a state renewable energy standard would actually lower energy costs.

Bruce Buchanan, president of the Benton County Council, said the wind farms are the single biggest thing that has ever happened to his county.

Residents stand to see substantial tax reductions in coming years as taxes from the wind farm start coming in.

The county will receive an up-front payment from BP in exchange for a 10-year tax abatement, which will give time for the wind farm to fully expand.