Manitoba Hydro announced plans to build a 300-megawatt wind farm at St. Joseph, Man.

Hydro-electric power from Canada's largest wind farm will be used by Manitoba Hydro for export to the United States, officials say.

The Manitoba government and Manitoba Hydro announced Monday plans to develop a massive wind-generated power farm in St. Joseph. between Winnipeg and the U.S. border.

But the only way the power would stay in Manitoba is if there's a drought and Manitoba finds itself in a position where it cannot produce surplus power.

"What we want to do is package it all together and try to get the most value we can for it," said Manitoba Hydro CEO Bob Brennan. "So it'll be packaged all together and sold as good, firm power — good, reliable, relatively expensive power — and that's because we can complement the wind with the hydro and make it a good product to sell."

Manitoba Hydro, a Crown-owned utility, enjoyed banner year last year as the biggest exporter of electric power in Canada.

For now, it seems Manitoba's hope of selling power to Canadian customers via an East-West power grid seems to be taking a back seat to exports to the U.S.

Greg Selinger, the minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro, said it appears Ontario is focused on developing its nuclear power.

"There is generally an interest across the country on the east-west grid," he said. "But the reality is it's going to take government leadership with industry leadership to make it happen. But our customers are coming to us from the United States."

Ontario and Manitoba are still talking about an east-west grid. But officials in Ontario say none of the $500-million the province received from Ottawa two years ago for green energy projects has been allocated to the east-west grid.

The St. Joseph wind farm project is worth more than $800 million and would generate 300 megawatts of electricity from 130 turbines. The farm is being developed by Babcock & Brown Canada ULC, which is to sell the power to Manitoba Hydro.

The wind farm will bring the province closer to achieving its goal of an installed capacity of 1,000 megawatts of aeolian, or wind, power.

Construction is expected to start in 2009, with power deliveries as early as 2011. The wind farm will displace 800,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually — the equivalent of taking 145,000 cars off the road.

Manitoba Hydro will buy, repackage and sell wind-generated power as part of a proposed 25-year agreement with Babcock & Brown’s North American Energy Group, which has interests in more than 20 wind farms across North America with an aggregate value in excess of $3 billion.