LOWELL — Crews have erected the first of 21 wind turbines on Vermont’s Lowell Mountain.

Green Mountain Power said the turbine was erected Friday afternoon.

The company said the Kingdom Community Wind project will generate the electrical needs of about 24,000 Vermont homes when it’s completed at the end of the year.

The Burlington Free Press reported that the Vermont Public Service Board OK’d the project last year following an overwhelming vote of approval by Lowell residents in March 2010.

Construction began in September, but was briefly interrupted earlier this month when about 80 demonstrators blocked a road and delayed the delivery of turbine and tower parts.