Driving past the community of St. Joseph, blinking red lights dot the horizon like fireflies glittering in the sky as off-white blades 80 metres above ground, turn in time with the wind. It's one of two world-class wind farms in the province and has the ability to give life to 50,000 homes when operating at full power.

The St. Joseph wind project first began operating in 2011, and is now considered one of the most community-supported wind farms in Pattern Energy's fleet, according to Mark Alderson, the facility manager.

"The overall support of our landowners, and local folks, contractors, has always been very high and we don't take that for granted," he said.

Pattern Energy, a United States-based renewable energy company, was selected by the community to develop the 138-megawatt farm, which plays host to 60 turbines over more than 30,000 acres of privately owned agricultural land.

All the energy produced is purchased by Manitoba Hydro, which sells the energy on the wholesale export power market.

"Generally, energy purchased under wind farm power purchase agreements is surplus to Manitoba Hydro's needs and is sold," said Bruce Owen, a spokesperson for the Crown corporation, in an email.

But even now, seven years later, the farm, which is the largest commercial wind power project in Manitoba, continues to live as a mystery to some. Those who frequently travel the area have become well-adjusted to the landscape, but to new visitors, the rare sight is something to behold.

Over the facility's lifetime, which is typically between 25 to 30 years, it's expected to generate an estimated $38 million of payments to landholders and $44 million in local municipal taxes. One-third of tax revenue goes to the host communities, while two-thirds is used for education, according to Pattern Energy's website.

"The wind farm has been very successful, we've probably even exceeded some of our internal expectations. We're always in the top quartile of safety and availability, and we're very happy with the performance of the wind farm," Alderson said.
Manitoba Hydro holds a power purchase agreement with Pattern Energy until 2039. At that point the agreement will be subject to negotiations between the wind farm owner and the Crown corporation, Owen said.

"At the end of the project's life, we will make the decision either to repower the entire project with the newest technology ... or we will decommission the project- sell the materials off as scrap metal and restore the land above and below surface down to plow depth so that it is in its original condition," said Matt Dallas from Pattern Energy, in an email.

Manitoba's first wind project, the St. Leon wind farm, is located in the rural municipalities of Lorne and Pembina. It was commissioned in 2006 and is owned by Algonquin Power and Utilities Corporation out of Oakville, Ontario. The facility has a 120-megawatt capacity, and is able to power 40,000 homes.