Gentry County, MO Wind Leasing: Missouri's First Wind Farm

Gentry County has a longer wind-energy history than almost anywhere else in Missouri: the Blue Grass Ridge Wind Farm near King City was the state's first commercial-scale project, built in 2006-2007, and the much larger Lost Creek Wind project extends into the county from neighboring DeKalb County. Here's what nearly two decades of wind development on the ground has actually meant for landowners here.

This page covers what's specific to Gentry County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.

Blue Grass Ridge: Missouri's first commercial wind farm

Wind Capital Group announced the Blue Grass Ridge Wind Farm near King City, in Gentry County, on January 31, 2006, and construction of its 27 Suzlon turbines began later that year and finished in 2007, with financing provided by John Deere. Blue Grass Ridge holds a genuine distinction: it was Missouri's first commercial-scale wind farm, predating the state's much larger later wind buildout in the northwest corner of the state by several years. At roughly 57 MW of capacity, it's a modest project by today's utility-scale standards, but it was the proof of concept that helped open the door to the larger projects that followed nearby.

Landowners who agreed to host turbines on the project reportedly signed 25-year leases paying around $5,000 a year per hosting arrangement (commonly described as per pair of turbines), with payments structured to increase over the life of the lease. Those are historical figures from the mid-2000s rather than a current market rate -- lease terms in Missouri's wind market have evolved considerably since, and anyone evaluating a new offer today, whether for a repowering of an existing project or a genuinely new one, should treat this figure as background context rather than a benchmark to negotiate against directly.

Lost Creek Wind: a larger project straddling the DeKalb County line

The Lost Creek Wind project, developed by Wind Capital Group in partnership with Associated Electric Cooperative Inc. and later acquired and upgraded by Pattern Energy, brought roughly 100 turbines online south and east of King City starting in 2010 -- a much larger buildout than Blue Grass Ridge, and one that extends across the Gentry/DeKalb county line rather than sitting entirely within either county. Because the project straddles the line, a Gentry County landowner near the King City area should assume Lost Creek Wind infrastructure -- turbines, underground and overhead collector lines, access roads, and a substation -- may be a normal feature of the surrounding landscape even if the parcel itself isn't directly under lease.

If you're buying land in this part of Gentry County, ask specifically whether the parcel or its immediate neighbors carry an existing turbine easement, collector-line easement, or access-road agreement -- these can run with the land and outlast a change in ownership. A title search and a direct conversation with the current owner about any existing lease, easement, or right-of-way agreement tied to either project should happen before you close, not after.

No zoning process stood between either project and construction

Gentry County has no county-wide zoning, so neither Blue Grass Ridge nor the Gentry County portion of Lost Creek Wind went through a conditional-use permit hearing or a public rezoning process. Lease terms were negotiated directly and privately between individual landowners and the developer, without a zoning board meeting for neighboring landowners to attend. That has real implications both ways: it's part of why wind development happened here relatively quickly and early, and it also means a landowner near, but not part of, an existing turbine array has limited formal recourse if a future expansion or transmission upgrade affects sightlines, road access, or noise exposure -- there's no hearing process to object through.

If you're offered a new lease today -- whether tied to an expansion of an existing project or an entirely new proposal -- get independent legal review from an attorney experienced in Missouri wind leases before signing anything. Ask specifically about lease length, any confidentiality clause covering what you can discuss about your own compensation, decommissioning obligations at the end of the lease term, and how the lease interacts with any existing agricultural use or a future sale of the property. MU Extension's general publication on wind energy leases is a useful starting point for the questions to ask, even though it predates the specific projects in this county.

Wind and Solar Leasing in Gentry County, Missouri

Blue Grass Ridge: Missouri's first commercial wind farm

Lost Creek Wind: a larger project straddling the DeKalb County line

No zoning process stood between either project and construction

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