AUSTRALIA'S first community-owned wind farm is about to become a reality.

The major contract for the construction of the Leonards Hill wind farm near Daylesford has been signed and details of the final share offer released.

The announcements were made at the annual general meeting of Hepburn Wind, a trading co-operative set up to own and operate the wind farm, at the Daylesford town hall tonight.

"Hepburn Wind today signed the final contracts with REpower Systems to build Australia's first community-owned wind farm at Leonards Hill", Hepburn Wind chairman Simon Holmes à Court said.

"Hundreds of volunteers, helped by the strong support of our members, have been working towards this milestone for the last five years."

More than 1100 members of the co-operative have invested $7.5m so far.

These community funds, along with finance from Bendigo Bank and a $975,000 grant from the State Government, had enabled Hepburn Wind to give REpower the 'green light' for the $12.9m project, Mr Holmes à Court said.

At the meeting, Mr Holmes à Court announced the release of a final offer of 1.8 million shares in Hepburn Wind, noting that the offer was open to all Victorians.

Members will receive dividends from the sale of the clean electricity produced. In addition, the project aims to contribute more than $1,000,000 to community sustainability initiatives over the next 25 years.

Application information is available on the Hepburn Wind website at www.hepburnwind.com.au

"Most Australians want to see a meaningful response to the threat of climate change, but many aren’t sure what constructive role they can play," Mr Holmes à Court said.

"By pooling resources, the community of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs has developed a model for the low carbon future that is both low cost - at least four times cheaper than rooftop solar PV - and brings a significant new business to town."

The two-turbine Leonards Hill wind farm is projected to generate 12,200 megawatt hours annually, significantly more than the estimated 10,100 megawatt hours used by the 1887 households of Daylesford, Mr Holmes à Court said.

Construction is scheduled to begin in October this year, and the wind farm is expected to start producing power in the second quarter of next year.

Mr Holmes à Court said communities around the country have been in contact to enquire about applying the Hepburn Wind model elsewhere.