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Company eyeing wind farm in ArkansasBENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP)--A company has leased its first parcels in northwest Arkansas for a proposed wind farm, where wind-powered turbines would generate electricity. The project could take years to develop, if it gets off the ground at all. TradeWind Energy of Lenexa, Kan., has secured lease agreements for 2,000 acres west of Bentonville, according to project development manager Aaron Weigel. The plan is to erect 100 turbines over 15,000 acres along both sides of the Arkansas-Oklahoma border. The company plans to lease 26,000 acres, with the extra land used to "protect the winds," Weigel said. The company Sept. 17 is to go before the Benton County Planning Board to seek approval for a tower it wants to erect in Sulphur Springs to collect meteorological data. That data will be used to make decisions on how to proceed with the wind farm. Other regions of the country are considered to have greater wind farm potential than northwest Arkansas. But some experts say winds in the state can be harnessed for energy. Jenny Ahlen, Renewable Energy Programs coordinator for the Arkansas Energy Office, said TradeWind Energy is not alone in evaluating the state. "I think that it will happen," she said of wind development. "The question of when, I guess, is the more serious question." She said several wind development companies are looking at Arkansas possible projects. Ahlen said incentives from federal and state government will help companies to commit. "People are in this business to make money while providing a clean energy source," Ahlen said. "If they're not going to make money, they're not going to do it." Weigel said TradeWind will need financing, plus support from landowners and local government. The company will also need a buyer for the electricity it generates. Weigel said Southwestern Electric Power Co. is a likely choice. Stephan Pollard, who started Fayetteville-based Throttle 6 Wind Energy Development about a year ago with partner Terry Tremwel, said southeast Arkansas could also be tapped for wind development. "Right now, it's borderline viable," he said of the wind in the region. "The Delta would be a very easy place to construct farms, because it's flat, easy to get construction equipment out to locations, and you don't have to deal with as many landowners." He said the benefit to the local economy would be welcome. "State economic development officials would just eat this up," he said. "Everybody in the state would." Weigel said it could take between three and 10 years to make functional the Honey Creek Wind Project, as the northwest Arkansas plan is known, even if tests from the meteorological tower are favorable. The Great Plains are excellent for wind development, but new space is becoming scarce, which Weigel says is sending companies looking to Arkansas and other places. "Heights of turbines are getting higher and higher," he said. "With this improvement in technology, areas that were once thought of as out of the question are actually looking more appealing," Weigel said. LM Glasfiber is building a factory at the Port of Little Rock to manufacture windmill blades for turbines. The company is in production at a temporary location. 9/29/08 Date: 9/23/08
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