With education, favorable policy, KS wind power poised for growth

By Jeff Caldwell

Kansas is a windy place.

While many residents see this as little more than a nuisance, a group of people who gathered recently beg to differ. Instead, this commonly conceived annoyance represents as abundant an energy source as the oil fields of Saudi Arabia.

Tapping into this vast energy resource and the prospects for wind energy development in Kansas, in addition to those for biomass and bioproducts, were discussed and examined by representatives of wind energy companies and Kansas communities, in addition to other concerned citizens and parties, at the 4th Annual Kansas Wind and Biomass Energy Summit, Sept. 29 and 30, in Wichita.

The current energy situation that has come to fruition in Kansas should be a motivating factor for state officials, energy firms and residents to pursue power sources that can displace natural gas and petroleum use, yet maintain economic viability, according to Dr. Lee Allison, chairman of the Kansas State Energy Resources Coordination Council. Allison, also director of the Kansas Geological Survey, said energy problems can be directly attributed to the flow of power into and out of the state.

"There has been tremendous change in Kansas in the last 20 years. We've gone from a net energy exporter to an importer. Why?" Allison said. "A long-term decline in the condition of aging oil fields caused a net balance in energy from 1982 to 1997. But, in 1997, we started seeing a precipitously downward trend."

In 2002, according to Allison, the state of Kansas imported nearly 300 billion BTUs (a common measuring quantity for energy) of power. This is merely part of a trend, through which Allison said the state could become dangerously dependent on other area's energy generation.

"Now, we're having to pay to bring energy into Kansas," he said.

The Kansas SERCC and newly created Transmission Task Force, the formation of which was announced for the first time at the summit, will address issues that stand in the way of the state's energy independence, and how to solve those problems. Included in the SERCC's actions are evaluations of the state's energy plan, while the Transmission Task Force, recently commissioned by Governor Kathleen Sebelius, will "deal with problems and constraints of transmission," according to Allison.

"The Kansas energy abstract, released in August, lacked much information on renewable energy," he said. "Our goal is to restore self-reliance in energy."

A large part of the restoration of Kansas' energy independence could take place as a result of the establishment of wind farms throughout the state. The recognition that the state now is a net importer of energy is a major step in the direction toward the establishment of wind energy facilities as alternatives to coal and natural gas, more common power sources, according to Randy Swisher, executive director for the American Wind Energy Association.

"Recognizing that Kansas is now an importer of energy is significant knowledge in proceeding with the establishment of more wind energy generation," Swisher said. "You can't know where you're going unless you know where you are right now."

While wind represents a formidable, renewable alternative to existing energy mainstays, like coal and natural gas, steps will be required in order to make it a greater part of the Kansas energy portfolio. Much of these steps must be taken in the political and financial arenas.

"We have inconsistent policy that has been very unattractive to wind development in Kansas. It's more expensive than it should be," Swisher said. "It's very dependent on policy, but it can be done, with the right changes. The future looks bright for wind power as a major Kansas energy export industry."

In addition to current policy constraints, wind power generation in Kansas also faces a stumbling block in some misconceptions held by segments of the population who oppose the construction of addition wind farms throughout the state. Dispelling these myths was Steve Palomo, manager of Wind Powering America, a segment of the U.S. Department of Energy that works with local and state officials and wind developers.

One concern Palomo spoke to is the misconception that wind turbines are severely detrimental to the wildlife of an area, something he said is the number one issue the public has against wind energy technology. Contrary to this popular belief, each large wind turbine kills one to two birds each year, amounting to 30,000 to 50,000 birds each year nationwide.

Contrarily, other sources account for much greater detriment to the avian population. Palomo compared the number of birds killed by wind turbines to corresponding figures for other entities, including house cats, which account for 100 million bird deaths each year.

Another concern Palomo said he has heard about wind farms is siting, as wind farms are often thought to take up a great deal of land. Instead, while the farms do encompass large areas, the actual land occupied by individual turbines is less than two percent of the total area covered by the wind farm.

Palomo emphasized the importance of wind power and its benefits to the overall energy portfolio as outweighing the many myths surrounding the renewable energy source, which, with education, can be embraced by the general public once the misconceptions can be disproven.

"Why diversify our energy portfolio by including more wind energy? Because of energy security, predictability and ultimate cost savings down the road," Palomo said.

Even though impeding factors do exist to the overall acceptance of wind power as an energy source mainstay, there are opportunities beyond efficient energy that can become realities with more wind farms in Kansas. One of these could come through tourism. Jennifer States, representing JW Prairie Windpower, of Lawrence, said communities can benefit by having a wind farm nearby, through revenue generated by visitors drawn by curiosity.

"Local businesses benefit from visitors to an area wind farm through the procurement of local goods and services and increases in sales tax revenue," States said.

In addition to the primary boost to the local economy, communities can also use wind farms as bases for periodic activities, like festivals. While this can further benefit local economies, it can also serve to educate the public about wind power in a fun, festive atmosphere. Such festivals have been held at wind farms in England, New Zealand and Germany, a nation that has is similar to the state of Kansas in geographic size, but has twice the wind power development.

Overall, a resounding tone of the 2003 Kansas Wind and Biomass Energy Summit was the vast, untapped potential wind power has for the state's energy portfolio. With both vastly improving turbine technology, along with the public's recognition of the facts about wind power generation and favorable policy formation, Swisher said the renewable energy source is poised for tremendous growth, not only in Kansas, but nationwide.

"Wind energy is the fastest growing energy source in the world," Swisher said. "This is a big year for the U.S. wind industry. It could be the biggest."

Jeff Caldwell can be reached by phone at 620-227-1805, or by e-mail at jcaldwell@hpj.com.

Date: 10/9/03

	Web hpj.com

Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2008.  High Plains Publishers, Inc.  All rights reserved.  Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com