“Outland is extremely proud that Minwind has placed its faith in us to provide operations and maintenance that will fully satisfy their mission needs. We look forward to achieving operational excellence and mission success in support of Minwind’s business objectives,” said Steve Scott, President and COO of Outland.

Minwind’s successful model of community wind development has created economic benefits for rural Minnesotans and Minnesota-based companies. “Outland was a natural choice for Minwind for a few key reasons.  Outland is an authorized North American service provider for the Hansen gearboxes that currently outfit our Minwind turbines. Coupled with their recent achievement of ISO 9001:2008 quality management certification, we know their services will be world-class. Outland was founded by five farmers, so they share Minwind’s commitment to harnessing the potential of renewable energy for the benefit of America’s rural communities,” said Minwind Energy CEO, Mark Willers.

“It is especially important for community-owned wind facilities to develop strong partnerships with organizations who understand the community objectives and provide expertise that allows the owners to effectively manage their risk and assets.  Outland’s skills and perspective are a great match with Minwind’s needs in this respect,” said Minwind’s legal counsel, Jeffrey Paulson.

“All of Minwind projects are based around the idea that local ownership is central to maximizing local benefits, and the projects are intended to both generate new income for farmers and benefit the local community’s economy.  We are proud supporters and partners to a firm that embodies both integrity and excellence,” said Jeremy Krug, Director of Operations at Outland.

About Minwind Energy, LLC

Founded in 2004, Minwind Energy, LLC is a management and development company which oversees the operation of nine independent wind farms, along with a transmission site.  Each independent company is owned by a group of farmers and local business people in Southwest Minnesota, and is committed to developing wind energy to produce electrical power as a revenue base for the regional rural economy.

“We are honored and delighted to provide our O&M expertise to an industry leader like Xcel Energy,” said Steve Scott, President & COO of Outland. “The fact that Grand Meadow is the first wind farm in Minnesota that Xcel Energy owns, makes the O&M agreement all the more meaningful to our team.”

“We’re pleased to award this contract to Outland Renewable Energy, a Minnesota-based firm that is a recognized leader in delivering customized O&M for wind generation owners,” said Lloyd Hilgart, Xcel Energy peaking plant director. “As the number one wind-power providing utility in the United States, we feel Outland’s expertise in wind turbine maintenance is a great asset to Xcel Energy.”

“As a result of winning this contract with Xcel Energy, Outland now operates and maintains more than 700 MWs of installed wind turbine capacity under long-term contract,” said Cam Winton, Outland Renewable Energy’s Director of Project Administration. “We continue to focus on our mission of being a trusted and respected O&M partner through the services we deliver, however big or small the assignment.”

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NYSE: XEL) is a major U.S. electricity and natural gas company that provides a comprehensive portfolio of energy-related products and services to 3.4 million electricity customers and 1.9 million natural gas customers through its regulated operating companies in eight Western and Midwestern states. Company headquarters are located in Minneapolis. More information is available at xcelenergy.com.

ISO 9001:2008 is a globally-accepted quality management standard codified by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization. To achieve ISO 9001:2008 certification, Outland had to demonstrate to an accredited independent auditor that it tracks and continuously improves the quality of services it provides to wind turbine owners. Outland’s ISO 9001:2008 certification provides customers with objective proof that Outland’s quality management system complies with the ISO’s rigorous standards.

The milestone was noticed by many throughout Minnesota, including Governor Tim Pawlenty. “This is a great achievement for Outland and it sets an excellent example for other companies. Minnesota is among the nation’s top states in the production of wind energy and companies like Outland will ensure that we continue to play a leading role in this growing industry.” Governor Pawlenty said.

“Quality matters when maintaining  complex, multi-million dollar wind turbines sitting more than 250 feet above ground level. Achieving ISO 9001:2008 certification ensures that Outland’s O&M services consistently exceed our customers’ expectations. Our quality management system assures the integrity of our processes and reinforces the confidence that our clients have placed in us. We have a tireless and loyal team, and this certification is a reflection of their work on behalf of our customers and shareholders,” stated Steve Scott, President and COO of Outland.

“The wind energy services industry is growing rapidly as the U.S. embraces wind as part of its energy mix,” said Cam Winton, Director of Project Administration and in-house counsel, who added, “As the first U.S.-based wind energy O&M company to achieve ISO 9001:2008 certification, Outland is well-positioned to continue its leadership role in the industry.”

In response to Outland’s certification, Luc De Proost, Chief Business Development Officer of Hansen Transmissions International (an ISO 9001:2000 certified company) said, “Our cooperation with Outland has been a wonderful experience so far. As the first U.S.-based third-party maintenance company in the wind industry to achieve this certification, Outland clearly demonstrates its commitment to quality and the importance of continuous improvement.”

It’s Cleaner.
Flushing and replacement oil is filtered to 3 microns, meeting ISO cleanliness levels.

It’s Safer
No heavy lifting and no oil buckets and drums up and down the tower like with manual gear unit flushing and changing.

It’s Cost-Effective
Oil exchange time is reduced by 75%! The vacuum drain speeds evacuation of oil and can can deliver ISO 320 viscosity
grade gear oil at a rate of 4-6 gallons (15-22 liters) per minute.*

It’s Environmentally Friendly
Triple hoses, direct connection to the gearbox, and the enclosed process eliminates spills & clutter.

*Actual delivery and suction times depend on factors affecting viscosity, such as oil temperature.

The contract provides for the operations and maintenance at the 300 Megawatt Cayuga Ridge wind farm located in rural Livingston County, Illinois and is owned by Portland, Oregon-based Iberdrola Renewables (Iberdrola). Outland will maintain a team of 20+ full-time highly skilled service technicians at Cayuga Ridge for the term of the contract, which consists of 150 Gamesa G87 2.0 MW turbines when fully commissioned.  The facility is expected to produce enough clean, renewable energy to power more than 500,000 average Illinois homes.

Outland shares a reputable heritage with Gamesa, dating back to 2006.  Over this period, Outland delivered a range of critical services to Gamesa, ranging from construction quality control, to project commissioning and project operations and maintenance.

“We are grateful to have this vote of confidence from such a globally recognized manufacturer as Gamesa and their global customer Iberdrola.  The immediate ripple effect in the market is that we are adding new jobs, increasing the size of our reach, and this positions us for continued expansion into the world market. I have high regard and respect for our entire team.  We will continue to focus on providing unparalleled levels of safety and quality at every project including Cayuga Ridge in Illinois,” said Steve Scott, President of Outland Renewable Energy.

Through a partnership with Minnesota West Community & Technical College, the grants will be used to provide customized safety and wind turbine maintenance training for Outland’s current and future wind technicians, as well as wind energy students at Minnesota West.

The three grants awarded include:

• $44,000 “Hands on Training” – Building regional talent by providing hands-on wind turbine training for current and future Outland wind technicians and wind energy students at Minnesota West Community & Technical College.
• $14,500 “Gravitec Train-the-Trainer Training” – Funding for Outland’s EHS Specialist to attend Gravitec fall protection and rescue training, and then return to provide training and certification for Outland wind technicians and Minnesota West students.
• $45,500 “Geartech Gear Failure Analysis” – Outland will host seminars in the region in which Geartech will provide wind turbine gearbox training. The goal is to educate 125 Outland wind technician employees and/or wind energy students within the next year.

“We’re excited to be selected for these grant dollars from MNREM,” said Steve Scott, Outland president and COO. “The funds will help us maintain the quality and safety of the services we deliver through more efficient and thorough training of our wind technician team members. It will also provide additional training opportunities for wind energy students at Minnesota West Community & Technical College, which helps grow the wind energy talent pool in our region. In turn, we fully expect continued growth and expansion here at Outland.”

The grants are among 12 that were awarded by MNREM to promote innovative talent development and entrepreneurship solutions for the renewable energy industry in the 36-county MNREM region. The funded projects aim to build a strong and proactive talent development system that the renewable energy industry needs to stay competitive.

MNREM is part of the WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) initiative, a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to foster new partnerships and ways of delivering education and training to enhance the region’s talent development system.

CANBY, Minn. (September 8, 2009) Outland Renewable Energy, LLC (Outland) and Hansen Transmissions International nv officials announced this week in a meeting at Hansen manufacturing headquarters in Lommel, Belgium that Outland has been selected to be an authorized on-site service provider in North America for Hansen Service Wind.

Outland, headquartered in Canby, MN, will form a dedicated team of wind technicians to provide on-site service support for the nearly 6,000 Hansen wind turbine gearboxes located on wind energy farms throughout North America. Hansen Transmissions is the second largest wind turbine gearbox manufacturer in the world.

Over the last 30 years Hansen Transmissions, headquartered in Edegem, Belgium, has supplied over 20,000 gearboxes for wind turbine applications. Hansen has recently established a dedicated service division for its wind business called “Hansen Service Wind” which is working together with its customers to develop competitive business models based upon well-balanced allocation of production resources between new products and aftermarket services.

Steve Scott, Outland president and COO, said, “Our partnership with Hansen Service Wind confirms Outland’s position as one of the most trusted and respected wind energy companies in North America. My hat goes off to each and every Outland employee, with a special thanks to our outstanding wind technicians in the field. Their ability to repair and maintain wind turbines with minimal incident, accident or injury is the primary reason Hansen chose Outland as their service partner. This partnership will drive continued aggressive growth for Outland throughout North America.”

Outland’s field services division is the largest service provider to the wind industry in Minnesota and one of the largest in the United States. The company provides construction, commissioning and maintenance services to OEM’s and project owners throughout North American. “The close cooperation with Outland is a first and important step in widening the geographic footprint of the Hansen Service Wind division. The North American market has a very strong medium- to long term growth potential. In 2010 we will further expand our service activities by setting up a Hansen Service Centre in North America for servicing and upgrading our gearboxes.”, says Dr. Jan Declercq, Director Business Development, Sales & Marketing at Hansen Transmissions.

About Hansen Transmissions
Hansen Transmissions International nv is an established global wind turbine gearbox and industrial gearbox designer, manufacturer and supplier, with a leading position (by MW supplied) in the wind turbine gearbox market. The company supplies gearboxes to the largest manufacturers of gear-driven wind turbines globally and provides durable gear drives for a wide range of industrial applications throughout the world. Hansen plans to increase its wind turbine gearbox manufacturing capabilities, from 3,800 MW per annum in the financial year 2007 to 14,300 MW, by financial year 2013. In addition to its principal manufacturing facilities in Belgium – comprising a wind turbine and industrial gearbox plant in Edegem (Antwerp) and a fully integrated state-of-the-art dedicated wind turbine gearbox manufacturing facility in Lommel (Limburg) – Hansen has a +95,000m² production plant for wind turbine gearboxes in Coimbatore, India and started the construction, in September 2008, of a production plant for wind turbine gearboxes for the Chinese market on a 250,000m² site in the Beichen Hi-tech Industrial park in Tianjin. Hansen has strong research and development operations to maintain its technological leadership and employs over 2,400 people worldwide.

For more information, visit www.hansentransmissions.com

CANBY, Minn. (February 13, 2009) Outland Renewable Energy, LLC (Outland) announced today that field service technician Alex Rice has been recognized as the company’s 2008 Safety Champion. Rice joined Outland in August of 2008, and provides maintenance support to the 20 MW ‘Winnebago’ wind power facility located north of Mason City, Iowa.

Todd Erickson, director of safety and quality for Outland, commented, “Alex has an outstanding attitude that positively impacts those around him. He consistently uses his problem solving skills to identify opportunities for improving workplace safety, communicates the matter to his supervisors and follows through on implementation.”

Outland president Steve Scott also stated, “Alex is a genuinely caring person who is constantly on the lookout for the safety issues that may impact his co-workers. He’s a great role model for the rest of the team. We’re all proud of him and appreciate the positive impact he’s had on our entire organization.”

Alex and his wife Erin reside in Lake Mills, Iowa with their daughter, Faith.

Scott joined Outland in May of 2006 as the company’s first employee and inaugural Chief Operating Officer. He has successfully guided the company through a period of significant growth and helped establish Outland as one of the most respected technical service providers in the U.S. wind industry.

Dennis Fultz, Chairman of the Outland Board of Governors, stated, “Steve has demonstrated exceptional leadership, vision and an uncanny sense of direction in building our field service division here at Outland. As president of the company, Steve will now use these skills to lead both services and project development through a period of considerable market uncertainty and evolution. Steve’s personal standards of quality work, accountability and individual integrity have and will continue to serve our organization well into the future.”

Scott commented that, “Outland is a great organization with a very special history. I’m proud to have been here from day one and humbled by the opportunity to lead such a great group of hard working, committed people.”

Scott and his family will maintain their residence located in rural South Dakota and split his time between Outland’s two Minnesota offices.

“This agreement re-confirms Outland’s position as a trusted leader in the operations and maintenance of wind facilities here in North America, “ stated Steve Scott, Chief Operating Officer for Outland. We’re excited to be a long term partner with Gamesa and extremely proud of our entire field service team. This is a feather in their cap and a sign of things to come.”

Joe Thorpe, Service Manager for GWUS added, “Outland has risen to the occasion and proven their commitment to service and safety. They’ve done a great job of understanding our needs and building a support network needed to address those needs.”