Vineyard Power, the Island-owned energy cooperative, is preparing to partner with a private developer in bidding for leases early next year in the federally owned wind energy area 12 nautical miles south of the Vineyard.

Developers will bid on 25-year leases on one or more of the zones at a federal auction Jan. 29.

The Island energy cooperative is entering the next phase of its plan to build a 40-megawatt wind farm south of the Vineyard, and has reached a clear turning point in its young history, president Richard Andre said at the fifth annual meeting Saturday.

Some 742,000 acres of ocean south of Martha’s Vineyard will soon be available for commercial wind energy leases, Gov, Deval Patrick announced this week. A public meeting about commercial offshore wind energy leases is scheduled for Monday on the Vineyard.

Chilmark will contract with the local energy cooperative Vineyard Power to build the town’s first solar array.

Pending final approval from town counsel, the Chilmark selectmen Tuesday voted to approve a contract for about 530 solar panels at the town landfill off Tabor House Road. The 173-kilowatt system is planned to produce up to 215,000 kilowatt hours a year, enough energy to power the town buildings.

The project will cost $1.25 million to build and is being financed by an unnamed Chilmark resident.

A new commercial-scale solar project and development of a wind turbine project south of the Island top the to-do list for Vineyard Power in the coming year, leaders of the cooperative told members last weekend.

With 1,300 members and the Island’s first municipal solar array a reality as of this week, Vineyard Power, the Island energy cooperative that was little more than an idea three years ago, is now a viable enterprise.

But with 8,000 members needed to make the next big project a reality — a $200 million offshore wind farm in a state-approved area south of the Vineyard — the fledgling community cooperative still has a good distance to travel to meet its goals.

In Vineyard Power’s humble headquarters just past the Grange Hall on State Road in West Tisbury hangs a dry erase board with a breakdown of the Island’s energy meters. One number stands alone in bold: 824. It’s the most important number to the fledgling energy cooperative, the number of members who have signed up so far.

“If those 824 members all get one person to join, we’d be up to 1,600,” said Vineyard Power director Richard Andre, eyeing the board. Credibility, both in the community and among investors, depends on membership.

Catherine the Great once said: “A great wind is blowing, and that gives you either imagination or a headache.” Islanders have experienced their share of both over the past decade, as visions of energy independence have been tempered by talk of viewsheds, environmental impacts and the preservation of cultural heritage.

A sparsely furnished three-room building in West Tisbury marks the unassuming home of Vineyard Power. The organization has two full-time employees: Richard Andre and his assistant, Kerry Downing. All in all it’s a humble arrangement. There is nothing modest, however, about the organization’s ambition. Vineyard Power, the Island’s first energy cooperative, plans to raise and manage nearly $200 million in federal and private investments in wind power and make the Island energy independent within five years.

As the prevailing summer winds begin to blow, bringing with them an influx of seasonal residents, Vineyard Power, the Island’s nascent energy cooperative, begins its first seasonal membership campaign, flooding local airwaves with advertisements and fanning out across the Island in a series of informal public presentations and question-and-answer sessions. One such presentation was held last Thursday at the Grange Hall in West Tisbury.