TRIMONT - A third wind farm in western Martin County is being planned, with permitting processes already under way.

"We just had such wonderful success with the first and second projects that we're hoping the third will go just as well," said Jan Johnson, spokeswoman for Iberdrola Renewables, which developed the first two projects.

When construction will begin is not known, but the company has filed two permits with the state.

"The first is a certificate of need, and that was filed in May," said Adam Sokolski, business developer with Iberdrola. "The second is the site permit and that was filed in June. They take about six to seven months to be approved by the state."

The third wind farm installment - being called the Elm Creek 2 project - will be located on lands just south of the Elm Creek and Trimont wind farms: south of Trimont, north of Alpha and west of Sherburn.

The first wind farm was developed west of Trimont, and the majority of the turbines are located in Martin County. The Elm Creek wind farm was developed in the northeast corner of Jackson County. The new wind farm will straddle the Martin and Jackson county lines.

Iberdrola plans to have the wind farm at a 150-megawatt capacity. The Trimont and Elm Creek wind farms are both 100 megawatts.

"We're sending out notices, and another round of these notices will be going out in August," Sokolski said. "There will also be a public meeting held in August, although it hasn't been scheduled yet. During that meeting, we'll have people from the state utility commission available."

Iberdrola plans to utilize the same development model used for the Trimont and Elm Creek wind farms, with landowners holding a stake in the project and receiving revenue for leasing land for turbines.

"It's been a good model for us," Johnson said. "The landowners receive revenue for land lease and the county also receives tax revenues from the project."

Some of the big details - such as a construction schedule, how many or what type of turbines will be built, or which company the power will be sold to - are still unknown.

"Everything is still very preliminary," Sokolski said.

Landowners in the proposed project area will be notified by mail about the project, with upcoming meetings planned to discuss their possible participation.