Existing Kansas Wind Farms
Map of Existing and
Proposed wind projects in Kansas (PDF-497 kb), Source: Kansas
Energy Information Network, May 2007.
Elk River Wind Project
Butler County, Kansas - Kansas' largest wind
farm. This 150 MW wind farm came on-line in
December 2005. A project of Elk River Wind Farm LLC of
Larkspur, CA. HMH Energy Resources of Larkspur, Calif. and Greenlight Energy, Inc. of Charlottesville, Virginia
co-developed the project and sold it to PPM Energy, Inc. of Portland, OR.
The one hundred 1.5 MW wind turbines are located several miles South of Beaumont.
On Dec. 13, 2004, it was announced that Empire District Electric
utility of Joplin, MO, had contracted with PPM Energy, Inc. to buy 150 MW of electricity from Elk
River.
Originally, the Butler County Planning Commission approved
the project 5-2 at their Jan. 7, 2003 meeting. The Butler County Commission
approved the project, 3-2, at their Jan. 28 meeting. On Nov. 24, 2003, a judge
ordered a new vote on the project after throwing out the County
Commission's previous decision. On Dec. 16, 2003 the Commission took another
vote and approved the project 3-2. (May 2006)
- Elk River Wind Project - PPM Energy
Fact Sheet (PDF, 3.8 MB)
Elk River Wind Farm Monthly Production
- Graph, KEIN.
- Elk River wind farm money plan
(El Dorado Times, July 3, 2006)
- Prairie property owners harness energy
(El Dorado Times, May 15, 2006)
- Elk River Wind Farm to be dedicated
(El Dorado Times, May 8, 2006)
- Wind farm reaches commercial status
(El Dorado Times, Dec. 20, 2005)
- Wind farm project nears completion
(El Dorado Times, Nov. 8, 2005)
- Wind-power turbines on line
(The Joplin (Mo.) Globe, October 19, 2005)
- Wind farm trucks asked to stay off county roads
(Winfield Courier, August 01, 2005)
- Winds of change
(The Joplin Globe, July 17, 2005)
- In Our View: Wind farm promises clean energy
(The Joplin Globe, May 25, 2005)
- Wind farm work fans Flint Hills debate
(Wichita Eagle, May 23, 2005)
- County issues permit for windfarm work
(Augusta Gazette, May 12, 2005)
- Judge dismisses wind farm suit
(Augusta Gazette, May 09, 2005)
- Butler Co. wind farm moves ahead
(Wichita Eagle, December 16, 2004)
Gray County Wind Farm
Gray County, Kansas - Kansas' first large-scale
wind farm was erected near the town of Montezuma by
FPL Energy
in 2001. It produces 112 MW of electricity from 170 Vestas V-47 wind turbines.
Kansas-Smith Wind projects
Meade County, Kansas - In August 2005, Enertech Wind Systems of Wichita contracted and installed the
two-turbine project totaling 240 kw at the Kansas-Smith hog farm in Southwestern
Kansas near the town of Plains. The 120 kw Vestas V-20 wind turbines were
remanufactured and commissioned by Halus Power Systems of Hayward, California. The energy produced
is used to off-set the hog farms' electricity consumption.
Spearville Wind Project
Ford County, Kansas - A project of enXco will be 100.5 MW in size, located north of Hwy 50/56 near Spearville.
The
Ford Co. Zoning Board approved the project 5-0 on August
25, 2003. The Ford County Commission
unanimously approved a conditional use permit and development plan
for the project on September 15, 2003. It was announced on December 13, 2005,
that enXco will develop and construct the project and KCP&L will own
it. The project consists of 67 GE 1.5 MW wind turbines. Construction
began in April 2006, finished in August 2006 with the formal
dedication planned for October 2006. (Aug. 31, 2006)
- Spearville wind farm project, Video - Ford County web-site
- Spearville wind farm is eye-catching
(Hutchinson News, Oct. 20, 2006
- Registration required)
- KCP&L to celebrate wind farm in Spearville
(Dodge City Globe, Oct. 17, 2006)
- Registration required)
- Wind Farm crew says goodbye to Spearville
(Dodge City Globe, August 30, 2006
- Registration Required)
- Spearville wind turbines up and running
(Hutchinson News, August 25, 2006
- Registration required)
- Spearville wind farm takes shape
(Hutchinson News, July 19, 2006 -
Registration required)
- Five wind farm towers up in Spearville
(Dodge City Globe, June 29, 2006)
(Registration required)
- Powered by Wind
(Dodge City Globe, June 17, 2006 -
Registration required)
- Sebelius inaugurates wind energy facility
(Hutchinson News, June 17, 2006 -
Registration required)
- Wind farm, company to energize county with $9.73M
(Hutchinson News, June 10, 2006 -
Registration required)
- County approves donation agreement with KCPL
(Dodge City Globe, June 9, 2006)
- Governor to attend wind farm ceremony in Spearville
(Dodge City Globe, May 29, 2006)
- Giant wind farm blades arrive in Spearville
(Dodge City Globe, May 16, 2006)
- Construction begins on Spearville wind farm
(Hutchinson News, April 13, 2006 -
Registration required)
- Spearville gets wound up for construction of energy farm
(Hutchinson News, March 24, 2006 -
Registration required)
- County approves zoning for wind farm
(Dodge City Globe, Feb. 16, 2006)
- George: Size of proposed Spearville wind farm may double
(Dodge City Globe, Dec. 19, 2005)
- KCP&L picks developer
(Kansas City Star, Dec. 14, 2005 -
Registration required)
- Company selects Ford Co. site for new wind farm
(The Hutchinson News, Dec. 14,
2005 - Registration required)
- KCP&L picks wind farm developer
(Kansas City Business Journal, Dec. 13, 2005)
- KCP&L selects enXco, Spearville site for Kansas windfarm
(PDF)
(Great Plains Power press release, Dec. 13, 2005)
- KCP&L considers wind farm near Spearville
New plant would be operable by fourth quarter of 2006
(The Hutchinson News, Sept. 23,
2005 - Registration required)
- Spearville inches closer to a wind farm
(Dodge City Globe, Sept. 23, 2005)
Westar Wind Farm
Pottawatomie County, Kansas - This project
includes Kansas' first commercial-scale wind turbines.
In 1999, Westar (then Western Resources) erected two 600 KW turbines in the shadow of the Jeffrey
Energy Center coal plant.
Proposed Kansas Wind Projects
(Projects are listed alphabetically by county)
Deer Creek Wind Project
Anderson County, Kansas - A 200 MW proposed project of TradeWind Energy of Lenexa, KS. Few details of this project
have been reported. It's not expected that this project will be built during 2007.
Barber County Wind Project
Barber County, Kansas - A 250 MW wind project is being studied in Barber
County. There is no other information on this project at this point. (July 6, 2006)
Leon Wind Project
Butler County, Kansas - A proposed joint project of Kansas Wind Power LLC (now
TradeWind Energy),
a Kansas-based company with offices in Lawrence
and Overland Park, and Padoma Wind Power of La Jolla, CA. The plan was for
68 wind turbines to be located 3.5 miles south of Leon, 30 miles east of Wichita.
Butler County Planning Commission approved the project 6-0. The County
Commission denied permission for this project, 4-1.
A lawsuit was filed to challenge this decision, though by 2005, it appears this
project is dead.
Rosalia Wind Project
Butler County, Kansas - A proposed 73 turbine project of Zilkha Renewable Energy (now Horizon Wind Energy)
to be located East of Rosalia, on either side of US-54. The project
proposal was withdrawn and is currently on hold. (2006)
Chase County Wind Project
Chase County, Kansas - A project of FPL Energy of Juno Beach, FL. Few details of the project
were reported, though the project was to be built in Southern Chase County as early as
Fall 2004. See the September 2
newspaper article in the Chase County Leader-News (PDF - 1.7 MB) for more. The
Oct. 4 Wichita Eagle reported that FPL has shelved the plans for this
project for now.
Cloud County Wind Project
Cloud County, Kansas - A proposed project of Horizon Wind Energy of
Houston, Texas. The proposed project will involve 59 landowners in a 100- to 150-megawatt
wind farm on 20,000-plus acres in the southeastern part of the county. The County Commission
has approved a development agreement with Horizon.
Elk River II Wind Project
Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas - A proposed project of Greenlight Energy, Inc. of Charlottesville, Virginia. The project
could have as many as
167 wind
turbines generating from 200-250 MW of electricity.
Two-thirds of the turbines are planned for Cowley County and will be
located in the Northeast corner of the county. Both Cowley and Elk Counties are unzoned.
Caney River Wind Project
Elk County, Kansas - A project of TradeWind Energy of Lenexa, KS. Few details of this project
have been reported. It's not expected that this project will be built during 2005.
Ellis County Wind Project
Ellis County, Kansas - Originally, a proposed 100-200 MW project of
Distributed Generation Systems, Inc. (DISGEN) of
Evergreen, Colorado, which was bought out by
CPV Wind, which was bought out
by Iberdrola Renewable Energies USA of Spain.
(April 12, 2007)
- Special Section: Ellis County wind farm proposal
(Hays Daily News)
- Ellis County Wind Farm Map
(Hays Daily News, 2007)
- Commentary, Letters to Editor on Wind
(KEIN Archive, 2007)
- Opponents air wind concerns
(Hays Daily News, May 3, 2007)
- Location selection due to wind surveys
(Hays Daily News, April 30, 2007)
- Tests to determine wind farm’s effect on power grid
(Hays Daily News, April 28, 2007)
- Wind farm talk gaining more speed
(Hays Daily News, April 24, 2007)
- New counsel for wind farm issues
(Hays Daily News, April 17, 2007)
- CPV Wind sold to new company
(Hays Daily News, April 11, 2007)
- Jeter resigns from wind farm counsel
(Hays Daily News, April 9, 2007)
- Commissioners hear wind farm feedback
(Hays Daily News, April 2, 2007)
- Wind farm debate blows into Hays
(Hays Daily News, March 28, 2007)
- Developer files application in Ellis County for wind farm
(Hays Daily News, March 6, 2007)
- Wind farm won't happen
(Hays Daily News, Oct. 10, 2005)
- A wind-win situation
(Ft. Hays State University Leader, Sept. 13, 2005)
- Talks not just hot air
(Hays Daily News, August 30, 2005)
- Wind farm a prospect
(Hays Daily News, August 09, 2005)
Smoky Hills Wind Farm
Ellsworth/Lincoln Counties, Kansas - A proposed project of
Lenexa-based TradeWind Energy will be located
on the Ellsworth-Lincoln County line. The
project will involve nearly 20,000 acres, 120 to 170 turbines each capable of
producing from 1½ to 2 megawatts each. The total size of the
project will be between 150-250 MW. On Dec. 13, 2006, it was announced that
Sunflower Electric of Hays will purchase 50.4 MW of power from this wind
farm. On Jan. 5, 2007, it was announced that
Kansas City Board of Public Utilities
would purchase an additional 25 MW.
The wind farm should be
constructed and producing power by the end of 2007. (January 8, 2007)
- Sierra Club's Position on the New TradeWind Energy Wind Farm
Kansas Sierra Club web-site, Feb. 11, 2007
- Commissioners OK turbine agreements
(Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, April 12, 2007)
- Wind turbine project in western Kansas outlined
(Topeka Capital-Journal, Jan. 26, 2007
- Registration required)
- Wind farm opponents force revision in bill
(Hutchinson News, Jan. 26, 2007
- Registration required)
- Wind Talk: Informational meeting draws around 80 people
(Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, Jan. 25, 2007)
- Residents differ on benefits, impact of proposed wind farm
(Wichita Eagle, Jan. 22, 2007)
- Commissioners set informal hearing on wind
(Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, Jan. 18, 2007)
- Reaping the wind
(Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, January
11, 2007)
- Wind farm opponents ask Moran for help at meeting in Wilson
(Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter, January
4, 2007)
- To address future energy needs, BPU reaches for the sky
(Kansas City Kansan, Jan. 5, 2007)
- Vestas Receives 100 MW Order For Kansas Wind Farm
(North American Windpower, Jan. 2, 2007)
- Sunflower announces wind project
(PDF)
(Rural Power, Kansas Electric
Cooperatives Newsletter, Dec. 22, 2006)
- Power deal lets Lenexa firm get cranking on wind farm
(Kansas City Business Journal, Dec. 22, 2006)
- Sunflower to purchase wind power
(Hutchinson News, Dec. 15, 2006
- Registration required)
- Sunflower to add wind energy
(Garden City Telegram, Dec. 14, 2006)
- Sunflower Electric selects TradeWind Energy as Wind Energy Provider
(Sunflower Electric Press Release, Dec. 13, 2006)
- Kansas wind developer details up to 310 MW - from
TradeWind web-site and Platts' Megawatt Daily,
Dec. 2003
Geary County Wind Ranch
Geary County, Kansas - A proposed 150 MW project of
Distributed Generation Systems, Inc. (DISGEN) of
Evergreen, Colorado.
Western Trail Wind Farm
Ford and Kiowa Counties, Kansas - A 400 MW project of Horizon Wind
Energy. This project will be located in Ford and Kiowa Counties. (April 2007)
Hamilton County Wind Project
Hamilton County, Kansas - A 135 MW project is being studied in Hamilton
County. This project entered the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) queue for a feasibility study
in March 2007.
No more information is known at this time.
Shooting Star Wind Project
Kiowa County, Kansas - A 105 MW project of Clipper Windpower Inc. of Carpinteria, CA. The proposed project location is South of Mullinville with plans
to use 42 of the 2.5 MW Clipper Windpower C-93 wind turbines. Status
of project is unknown.
Eagle Rock Wind Farm
McPherson County, Kansas - A proposed project of Gamesa Energía
Southwest,
an Austin, Texas based subsidiary of the Spanish Company
Gamesa Energía. The project is planned for the Northeastern part of the county
and could be between 100-150 MW. McPherson County passed wind turbine siting
guidelines in Nov. 2005, which are
available here.
These guidelines were later revised. (Jan. 2007)
- Eagle Rock Wind Farm, project map
(McPherson County Commission Board , Aug. 31, 2005)
- County wind farm project moves ahead
(McPherson Sentinel, October 14, 2006)
- McPherson County Commission - Wind regulations vote
(McPherson County Commission Board Minutes, October 10, 2006)
- McPherson County Commission - extend wind farm moratorium
(McPherson County Commission Board Minutes, August 29, 2006)
- Wind farm proposal reviewed
(McPherson Sentinel, July 26, 2006)
- County extends moratorium on wind farms to end of August
(McPherson Sentinel, July 1, 2006)
- County OKs zoning rules to regulate establishment of wind farms in Mac County
(McPherson Sentinel, November 9, 2005)
- McPherson County Commission - Minutes
(McPherson County Commission Board Minutes, November 8, 2005)
- County to study wind farm issue; then vote on it
(McPherson Sentinel, November 2, 2005)
- Everyone has an opinion about 'wind farms'
(McPherson Sentinel, October 19, 2005)
- Wind farm issue goes to county
(McPherson Sentinel, October 18, 2005)
- McPherson County Commission - Minutes
(McPherson County Commission Board Minutes, October 17, 2005)
- Wind farm opponents back at county seeking action
(McPherson Sentinel, October 12, 2005)
- Area residents object to the manner in which planners handled input
(McPherson Sentinel, September 21, 2005)
- Wind farm issue advances
(McPherson Sentinel, September 20, 2005)
- Wind farm issue continues to bring public comments
(McPherson Sentinel, September 15, 2005)
- Thiel urges county to OK wind farm
(McPherson Sentinel, August 31, 2005)
- McPherson County Commission - Minutes
(McPherson County Commission Board Minutes, August 30, 2005)
- Public input dominated by wind farm issues
(McPherson Sentinel, August 24, 2005)
- County OKs proposal for 6-month moratorium on wind turbines
(McPherson Sentinel, August 17, 2005)
- Moratorium on wind farm issue to be recommended
(McPherson Sentinel, August 16, 2005)
- Effect of proposed wind farm on county: Opposed to wind farm
(McPherson Sentinel, August 05, 2005)
- Effect of proposed wind farm on county: In favor of wind farm
(McPherson Sentinel, August 05, 2005)
- Zoning board struggles with wind farm issues
(McPherson Sentinel, August 03, 2005)
- Wind farm opponents continue to speak against plan
(McPherson Sentinel, August 03, 2005)
- McPherson residents discuss possible wind farm
(The Hutchinson News, July 19, 2005)
- McPherson County Commission - Minutes
(McPherson County Commission Board Minutes, July 5, 2005)
- Company looking to put wind farm near Lindsborg
(The Hutchinson News, June 25, 2005)
- McPherson County Commission - Minutes
(McPherson County Commission Board Minutes, June 21, 2005)
- Possible wind farm stirs Bonaville residents
(The Hutchinson News, June 21, 2005)
- Possibility of wind farms in the county concerns some area residents
(McPherson Sentinel, June 21, 2005)
Nemaha County Wind Project
Nemaha County, Kansas - A 135 MW project is being studied in Nemaha
County. This project entered the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) queue for a feasibility study
in March 2007.
No further information is known at this time.
Pratt County Wind Project
Pratt County, Kansas - A 150 MW wind project is being studied in Pratt
County. There is no other information on this project at this point. (July 6, 2006)
Rawlins County Wind Project
Rawlins County, Kansas - A 300 MW project is being studied in Rawlins
County. This project entered the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) queue for a feasibility study
in March 2007. No more information is known at this time.
British Pastures Wind Project
Riley County, Kansas - A proposed project of Orion Energy of Oakland, CA. The project will be
located in SE Riley County. There was
a moratorium on wind farm applications in Riley County through Oct. 7, 2004.
Sherman County Community Wind Project
Sherman County, Kansas - ReNewable Energy Resources,
a wind energy development company out of Tennessee, announced in Feb. 2005, that they
would build a 10-turbine, 6 MW wind project 10 miles southwest of Goodland using
NEPC India wind
turbines. Originally, this project was scheduled to break ground in
Summer 2005 and be completed by November with the City of Goodland
purchasing some of the power and a group of irrigators purchasing the
rest. However, due to delays
there will now be 4 turbines generating 3 MW
for the city of Goodland by Summer 2006 using wind turbines from
Denmark.
- Wind Turbines to land in Texas
(Goodland Star-News, April 4, 2006)
- Wind turbines scheduled
(Goodland Star-News, Jan. 6, 2006)
- Wind farm plan would supply city with cheaper cost power (PDF)
(Goodland Star-News, July 01, 2005)
- Goodland Contracts for wind power (PDF, 130 kb)
Page 2 (PDF, 558 kb)
(Goodland Star-News, Feb. 25, 2005)
- Wind towers to generate power (PDF)
(Goodland Star-News, Feb. 18, 2005)
Sherman County Wind Project
Sherman County, Kansas - An 81 MW wind farm is
being proposed for Sherman County, southwest of the city of Goodland.
Competitive Power Ventures
of Lakewood, Colorado is proposing the
project, which will compete for the Sunflower Electric RFP, that was
issued in August 2006. (August 30, 2006)
Conestoga Winds
Stevens County, Kansas - A project of HMH Energy Resources of Larkspur, CA. The project has been proposed for up to
200 MW. Of this, 50 MW were recently
proposed to Springfield City Utilities in an October 2005 RFP.
Colby Wind project
Thomas County, Kansas - A proposed project of JW Prairie Windpower LLC of Lawrence. The project is proposed for one mile
south of I-70 and will include 8 wind turbines near Colby. John Deere may be the corporate owner
for the first 10 years, in order to take advantage of the Federal production tax credit. After that,
ownership could resort to the community, utility or individuals.
Midwest Energy has sought wind
energy proposals and this is one of four that is still in
consideration (4/23/06).
Thomas County Wind project
Thomas County, Kansas - A 130 MW proposed wind farm of Air Stream Energy
of Scottsdale, Arizona. The proposed project would be built between the towns of Colby and Mingo
in Thomas County. This project was proposed to Westar Energy Request for Proposals in April 2007. (4/3/07)
Municipalities Wind Project
Several Towns - A project proposed by Kansas Wind Power LLC (now
TradeWind Energy),
where ten or more municipalities would have a relatively
small number of wind turbines (10-20), rather than one huge wind farm.
By "spreading the wealth", multiple small projects can achieve the
same scale of economy as a larger project, but without the limitations
of transmission constraints. Cities and towns that have been approached
(as reported in local newspapers) include Anthony, Augusta,
Coffeyville, Greensburg, Herington, Hoisington, Larned, La Crosse, Lincoln, Russell, and Winfield. See the TradeWind Energy
web-site for more info.
Munkers Creek Windfarm
Wabaunsee & Morris Counties, Kansas - A
100-200 MW project proposed by JW Prairie Windpower LLC near Alta Vista. The
Wabaunsee County Commission
issued a decision on June
28, 2004 that effectively will not allow the construction of wind
farms in the county. This project also falls in the "Heart
of the Flint Hills" (PDF, 1.7 MB) area, that Governor
Kathleen Sebelius' has discouraged wind farm developments.
Project awaits a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). (June 2006)
Wichita County Wind Project
Wichita County, Kansas - A 99 MW project is being studied in Wichita
County. This project entered the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) queue for a feasibility study
in March 2007. No more information is known at this time.
Sunflower Electric Wind Farm
Wichita County, Kansas - A project originally proposed
in 2002-3 for 60-75 wind turbines by wind developer Renewable Energy Systems and Sunflower Electric Power Corp. utility. It was announced in July 2006
that this project has been shelved. The originally planned location was for
Wichita County near Marienthal. (July 10, 2006)
Other Regional Wind Projects
Other
regional wind projects -
Information on wind projects in Missouri and Nebraska. (KEIN)
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