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Friday, March 2, 2018

The U.S. State of Kansas has high potential capacity for wind power, second behind Texas. The most recent estimates (2012) are that Kansas has a potential for 952 GW of wind power capacity yet has only about 1.2 GW installed. Kansas could generate 3,102 TW·h of electricity each year, which represents over 75% of all the electricity generated in the United States in 2011. This electricity could be worth $290 billion per year (at 9.35 cents per kW·h). Kansas generated 29.6% of its electricity with wind in 2016.

Growth




Smoky Hills Wind Farm in Kansas - Passing through the Smoky Hills Wind Farm by train.

Kansas has led the nation over the past decade in all measured categories of scaling up renewable electricity generation with an overall growth in generation of 1,678.5% from 2001-2007. This rapid overall growth in renewable energy generation represents an equally large increase of 1,487.9%, as a percent of total state electricity generation. Massive increases in generation are largely the product of wind energy development across the state. In 2001, Kansas had 114 Megawatts (MW) of wind energy generation. By the end of 2011, Kansas had installed 1,224 MW of generation. Wind energy generation in Kansas grew 2,793.5% from 2001-2007. This amounts to an average growth of slightly over 75% per year.

Potential


Wind Grows as Power Source in Kansas
Wind Grows as Power Source in Kansas. Source : www.govtech.com

Being centrally located in the midwest, Kansas is squarely placed in the center of America’s wind tunnel, a corridor stretching from North Dakota south into the Texas panhandle, where the vast majority of the nation’s best on-shore wind resources are located. Kansas has the 2nd highest wind potential in the U.S. with an estimated over 952,000 MW possible capacity, capable of generating over 3,101,576 GWh. Texas has the largest wind potential.

With a projected total state peak load of 10,000 MW, Kansas could become a major wind energy exporting state to the south and the east U.S. where renewable generation opportunities are much more constrained.

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) projects that if Kansas were to develop 7,158 MW of new wind by 2030 the economic impact for Kansas would total over $7.8 billion in benefit to local economies, landowners, and job creation, creating over 26,000 new jobs.

In 2007 Kansas Governor Sebelius noted in her State of the State address that “our goal is to produce 10 percent of our state’s electricity from wind power by 2010, and 20 percent by 2020.”

Wind power accounted for 19.4% of the electricity generated in Kansas during 2013.


Economic benefits


AWEA: Kansas to hit 5,000 megawatts of wind power this year | The ...
AWEA: Kansas to hit 5,000 megawatts of wind power this year | The .... Source : www.kansas.com

Forecasts indicate that for every 1,000 MW of wind developed in Kansas, cumulative economic benefits will be $1.08 billion, with annual CO2 reduction estimated at 3.2 million tons, and annual water savings at 1,816 million gallons. These projected benefits could be greatly increased by developing more localized manufacturing, installation, supply and maintenance industry within the State. In the 6 years leading up to 2008, Kansas lost 10,944 manufacturing jobs totaling 6% of the manufacturing workforce. It is estimated that the potential manufacturing benefit for Kansas lies mostly in the southeastern part of the state. Up to 2008, southeastern Kansas experienced the majority of high unemployment rates in the state (i.e., >6%).

Education


Wind power in Kansas - Wikipedia
Wind power in Kansas - Wikipedia. Source : en.wikipedia.org

Cloud County Community College has a wind energy technology program in Concordia. CCCC is the only college in the state of Kansas with an AWEA-certified wind energy program and only one of seven in the entire United States. They are located just two miles north of the Meridian Way wind farm.

Wind generation


Kansas wind energy industry set to take off | The Wichita Eagle
Kansas wind energy industry set to take off | The Wichita Eagle. Source : www.kansas.com

Source:

See also


Winds of Change - Westar and wind energy
Winds of Change - Westar and wind energy. Source : www.westarenergy.com

  • List of wind farms in the United States

References


Smoky Hills Wind Farm - Wikipedia
Smoky Hills Wind Farm - Wikipedia. Source : en.wikipedia.org

External links


New developments help Nebraska take advantage of its capacity for ...
New developments help Nebraska take advantage of its capacity for .... Source : www.omaha.com

  • Kansas Energy Office

Altamont Pass Wind Farm - Wikipedia
Altamont Pass Wind Farm - Wikipedia. Source : en.wikipedia.org

 
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