KANSAS WIND BOOM BUILDING

Kansas wind energy industry set to take off

Dan Voorhis, October 6, 2014 (Wichita Eagle)

“Three-quarters of the way through 2014, Kansas’ wind energy industry is shifting from ice cold to red hot…The state has nearly 3,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity in 25 wind farms, placing it among the top states in the nation…This year started slowly, with months going by with little activity. But at this point, there are four wind farms under construction, with about 475 megawatts of capacity…In the development stage are…[six] wind farm projects [totaling 1,800 megawatts] that may be built in 2015 or 2016…

“What makes wind power so compelling is that, at the moment, it is close to the lowest-price electricity, and that price can be locked in for 20 years by contract…[which makes it] a way to hedge gas price volatility and the environmental regulation of coal…This year marks a resurgence in wind farm construction. Developers built facilities generating 1,441 megawatts’ worth of energy in Kansas in 2012 but just 250 in 2013 because they raced so hard to get their projects up and going the year before, in case federal incentives were allowed to die…This year, however, developers could take their time because of the way the federal production tax credit law was written…The wind farms generally must be built by 2016 to qualify for the tax credits…” click here for more

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