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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Kansas has a new cash crop, wind turbines, as the state moves to grow its reputation as the second-best wind resource in the nation. Last week, wind power developer TradeWind Energy (Lenaxa, Kansas) agreed to sell all of the output of its 200-megawatt Caney River wind project to the Tennessee Valley Authority (NYSE:TVE) (Knoxville, Tennessee) under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
The $350 million Caney River project, which will employ about 200 workers during construction, is scheduled to begin commercial operation in January 2012. The project will be built, owned, and operated by Enel North America (Andover, Massachusetts), a subsidiary of Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) (Rome, Italy). The facility will be constructed on 14,000 acres of land about 50 miles east of Wichita, Kansas.
Kansas ranks behind Texas for the quality of its wind resource, according to a study released earlier this year by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colorado). Kansas was previously ranked as the nation's third-best state for wind power in a study from the early 1990s, which estimated that Kansas' wind resource could produce 1 gigawatt-hour of electricity per year. However, the 2010 study said the quality of wind resource in the Sunflower State could produce about 3.6 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year, raising the state into second place for wind resources.
"The wind resource in Kansas is abundant, and it results in electricity costs to the consumers that are lower and more predictable than any other form of electric generation," said Rob Freeman, the chief executive of TradeWind Energy. "Kansas is clearly one of the nation's marquee locations for producing wind and has incredible potential to supply itself and other states with cost-effective, clean, sustainable energy for generations to come."
Freeman added that the Caney River wind project "will be an enormous economic boost to the businesses and residents of Elk County, which has the second-lowest per capita income in the state of Kansas."
The Caney River project will enhance Kansas' reputation as a leader in low-cost wind energy development, according to Toni Volpe, who heads Enel's North American operations. Kansas has "reliable and consistent winds," which makes it "ideally positioned" to generate electricity from the wind. "This is a sustainable resource that can bring enormous economic benefits to Kansas for generations to come," Volpe said.
TradeWind Energy also developed the 250-MW Smoky Hills Windfarm, which began operations in 2008. The privately held firm is developing several other wind projects in Kansas, including the 200-MW Deer Creek Windfarm, which has a total investment value (TIV) of $400 million, and an 800- to 1,000-MW project scheduled for Clark County, Kansas, which carries a TIV of $2 billion.
Most of Kansas' windpower will be exported to other states, as the Sunflower State can only absorb so much of it. "The bulk of (planned windpower) will be for export to out-of-state utilities," Matt Gilhousen, TradeWind Energy's senior vice president of development, told The Wichita Eagle. "There is limited capacity in Kansas to absorb what will be generated here, but with the expansion of (the interstate transmission) system, we can continue to move it to where it's needed."
Getting wind power from Kansas to points east and south will require substantial upgrades to the nation's power grid. For more on the level of investment needed to bring windpower from the Upper Midwest, including Kansas, to areas east of the Mississippi River, see October 18, 2010, article - Wind Power: Resource is Free, but Transmission Lines are Expensive. These substantial transmission line investments will effectively require a national renewable electricity standard (RES). A standalone RES bill, mandating that renewable energy accounts for 15% of all electricity by 2020, was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, and supporters hope to schedule a lame-duck vote on the measure after the November elections, but before the next Congress is seated next January.
"The state of Kansas is poised to gain in a big, big way," said TradeWind Energy's Gilhousen. "This industry had quietly invested billions (of dollars) over the last few years in the state, but now we're looking at tens of billions."
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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
The $350 million Caney River project, which will employ about 200 workers during construction, is scheduled to begin commercial operation in January 2012. The project will be built, owned, and operated by Enel North America (Andover, Massachusetts), a subsidiary of Enel SpA (BIT:ENEL) (Rome, Italy). The facility will be constructed on 14,000 acres of land about 50 miles east of Wichita, Kansas.
Kansas ranks behind Texas for the quality of its wind resource, according to a study released earlier this year by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Golden, Colorado). Kansas was previously ranked as the nation's third-best state for wind power in a study from the early 1990s, which estimated that Kansas' wind resource could produce 1 gigawatt-hour of electricity per year. However, the 2010 study said the quality of wind resource in the Sunflower State could produce about 3.6 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year, raising the state into second place for wind resources.
"The wind resource in Kansas is abundant, and it results in electricity costs to the consumers that are lower and more predictable than any other form of electric generation," said Rob Freeman, the chief executive of TradeWind Energy. "Kansas is clearly one of the nation's marquee locations for producing wind and has incredible potential to supply itself and other states with cost-effective, clean, sustainable energy for generations to come."
Freeman added that the Caney River wind project "will be an enormous economic boost to the businesses and residents of Elk County, which has the second-lowest per capita income in the state of Kansas."
The Caney River project will enhance Kansas' reputation as a leader in low-cost wind energy development, according to Toni Volpe, who heads Enel's North American operations. Kansas has "reliable and consistent winds," which makes it "ideally positioned" to generate electricity from the wind. "This is a sustainable resource that can bring enormous economic benefits to Kansas for generations to come," Volpe said.
TradeWind Energy also developed the 250-MW Smoky Hills Windfarm, which began operations in 2008. The privately held firm is developing several other wind projects in Kansas, including the 200-MW Deer Creek Windfarm, which has a total investment value (TIV) of $400 million, and an 800- to 1,000-MW project scheduled for Clark County, Kansas, which carries a TIV of $2 billion.
Most of Kansas' windpower will be exported to other states, as the Sunflower State can only absorb so much of it. "The bulk of (planned windpower) will be for export to out-of-state utilities," Matt Gilhousen, TradeWind Energy's senior vice president of development, told The Wichita Eagle. "There is limited capacity in Kansas to absorb what will be generated here, but with the expansion of (the interstate transmission) system, we can continue to move it to where it's needed."
Getting wind power from Kansas to points east and south will require substantial upgrades to the nation's power grid. For more on the level of investment needed to bring windpower from the Upper Midwest, including Kansas, to areas east of the Mississippi River, see October 18, 2010, article - Wind Power: Resource is Free, but Transmission Lines are Expensive. These substantial transmission line investments will effectively require a national renewable electricity standard (RES). A standalone RES bill, mandating that renewable energy accounts for 15% of all electricity by 2020, was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, and supporters hope to schedule a lame-duck vote on the measure after the November elections, but before the next Congress is seated next January.
"The state of Kansas is poised to gain in a big, big way," said TradeWind Energy's Gilhousen. "This industry had quietly invested billions (of dollars) over the last few years in the state, but now we're looking at tens of billions."
View Project Report - 33000988 33000911 33001352
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
