JEFF DE BOOY / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Ron Diduch, Sequoia chief operating officer (holding model of wind turbine), shown with Crocus senior investment analyst Tanasut Rasmidatta, says the new money will compliment a 'similar-sized' infusion of capital from genesis Capital Corp.

A major new wind energy project is one step closer to converting its first gust of wind into electrical power.

Crocus Investment Fund announced yesterday it has invested $550,000 in the form of preferred shares in Sequoia Energy Inc., a firm which plans to build what it says is Canada's largest wind farm in southwestern Manitoba.

The new money will complement a "similar-sized" infusion of capital from Genesis Capital Corp., the investment arm of the Kraus family, Ron Diduch, Sequoia's new chief operating officer, said in an interview.

Diduch said initial construction on the site near St. Leon, about 150 kilometers southwest of Winnipeg, has already begun. The plan is to build and erect 63 wind turbines -- each about 112 meters high from base to tip and capable of generating 1.6 megawatts of power -- and connect them to an electrical grid system.

"This has great potential in Manitoba," he said in an interview yesterday. "It creates an interesting new energy business in Manitoba. We have hydro power, we'll have wind power and when you have that much energy available, you can start looking at new opportunities, such as hydrogen, that will have a future market as well."

Diduch noted Sequoia will serve as the developer of the $190-million project and that he expects to soon announce the sale of project site to another party. He said the company is also negotiating to sell the energy it produces to Manitoba Hydro. As further proof of the company's belief in wind energy projects in the second flattest province in Canada, Sequoia, which was based in Victoria, also announced yesterday that it has chosen Manitoba as the new headquarters for its operations. It said it has already moved its legal team, accounting functions and its environmental resources to Winnipeg, where it is in the process of setting up its new corporate office.

James Umlah, chief investment officer at Crocus, said he was excited about the labour-sponsored fund's latest investee company.

"It's not only a spectacular investment for our shareholders from a rate-of-return perspective, but it also embarks on a new chapter in the development of energy in Manitoba," he said in an interview.

He noted the involvement of Diduch, the former CEO of Jazz Golf who also previously worked in the alternative energy market with Westcoast Energy, Canadian Utilities and the Kraus Group, was key to the deal.

"We invest in people as well as business opportunities and Ron has a strong track record and highly developed skill set in this emerging space," he said.

Diduch said he was pleased to be going back to his roots in the alternative energy field and noted his tenure at Jazz will serve him well in areas such as finance and taking a company public. Glenn Schneider, public affairs manager at Manitoba Hydro, said the utility is interested in the potential of the Sequoia project to supplement its water-produced energy.

"It's certainly an emerging technology. It's the No. 1 renewable in terms of new energy being developed in the U.S.," he said, noting one problem is the intermittent nature of wind in Manitoba.

"It can blow very strongly and then you can have nothing. We think we can use the hydro resources to balance that so when the wind drops off, we can make up for it by putting more water through the system," he said.