CONSTRUCTION has begun on Manitoba's first wind farm and while the massive blades aren't yet generating wind power, the project is whipping up welcome economic benefits for businesses in the area.

In the last few days, trucks have arrived in St. Leon carrying knocked-down pieces of what will soon be the first six wind turbines in the province.

A total of 61 turbines are expected to be in place in the southwestern corner of the province by the end of the year.

Even in pieces, the giant blades -- as wide as football fields -- dwarf the semi-trailer on which they are carried and have left residents of St. Leon dumbfounded by their size.

"We knew they were going to be big, but we had no idea they were this huge," said Paul Grenier, who has agreed to have three of the turbines placed on his land. "You just can't imagine it."

The towers that hold the blades will stand taller than the Richardson Building when complete.

With the arrival of the equipment to the area comes between 40 and 50 workers who are needed to lay the foundations, construct the turbines and monitor the project.

The influx of workers from as far away as Texas and Alberta has been good news to area business owners.

Hotel rooms are full, restaurants are busy and even a local mechanic was called into service to put block heaters in some of the vehicles workers had driven up from the States.

"This has definitely been good for us," said Wes Friesen, owner of Somerset Food Bar & Lounge. "Our business has improved by about 10 per cent in the last while."

Friesen said workers are staying in a number of communities around the area because the local hotel only has a handful of rooms.

Local trucking firms have been pressed into service and the area concrete plant has recalled laid-off seasonal workers earlier than usual.

Garage owner Robert Lussier said he's been doing some minor mechanical repairs for some of the crews who are working in the area.

Lussier said the full impact on the local economy of the project hasn't yet been realized.

"They've just gotten started," he said. "It's already being felt, but it will probably still get better. Even those businesses which don't benefit directly will benefit from the increased tax revenues to the area down the road."

Dave Kerr of Algonquin Power, which is acting as project manager for the wind farm, said the turbines were shipped from Denmark, where they are built, to Houston, Tex., where they were loaded onto trucks for the long drive to Manitoba.

The equipment and parts for the second group of six turbines will leave Denmark on March 26 for the six-week trip here.

Kerr said he expects one turbine will be erected per week between now and the end of April. The second six will go up between May and June.

Once the first 12 are in place, they will run for a 120-day test period before the other 49 are constructed.

The full complement of turbines is expected to be up and running by the end of the year, making the St. Leon wind farm one of the largest in North America.

Energy, Science and Technology Minister Dave Chomiak said the first tower will be hoisted into place in the next few days by one of the largest cranes in the world.

Chomiak said the project will pay out about $9 million over the next 25 years to 50 landowners who have agreed to have the turbines on their property.

Another "five or six" energy companies are considering setting up additional wind farms in Manitoba, Chomiak said.

"We are anticipating further expansion," he said.

The $187-million St. Leon wind power project will produce 99 megawatts of electricity -- enough energy to power all the homes in Portage la Prairie and Morden combined. The province expects the project will generate more than $45 million in revenue through property, income, capital and sales taxes over the next 20 years.

Once the massive turbines are erected and are in operation, the wind farm is expected to generate more than $300,000 in new taxes for the two rural municipalities in the area. As well, the ongoing maintenance and monitoring of the turbines will bring between six and eight new jobs to St. Leon, a town of just 150 people.

AirSource Power Fund, a subsidiary of Ontario-based Algonquin Power, will own the project, which was originally developed by B.C.'s Sequoia Energy. AirSource will provide $187 million to erect the turbines and another $108 million in operating expenditures. The federal government is investing about $36 million through the Wind Power Production Incentive program over the first 10 years of the project.

Manitoba Hydro reached an agreement with AirSource to buy the power generated by the wind farm.