Wind Power Development Gusts in Kansas

Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--With over 3,800 megawatts (MW) of installed wind power generation capacity, Kansas trails only Texas, Iowa, California, Oklahoma and Illinois in installed wind generation capacity, according to data from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) (Washington, D.C.). But the Sunflower State is going through a bona fide wind power buildout right now, with more than 1,000 MW of new wind generation under construction and $2 billion of wind power projects in development that have not yet broken ground.

To that total should be added the $1.5 billion Grain Belt Express Transmission Project, a 775-mile high-voltage, direct-current transmission project that developer Clean Line Energy Partners (Houston, Texas) wants to build to transport up to 4,000 megawatts (MW) of wind-derived energy from western Kansas to Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and beyond. That project was blocked by Missouri utility regulators last year, but in late August 2016, Clean Line Energy Partners filed an updated application with the Missouri Public Service Commission (Jefferson City, Missouri). The Grain Belt Express project already has been delayed several times; further delays, or a cancellation, could have a negative cascading effect on Kansas wind projects being developed mainly for export markets. For more on the regulatory issues that have delayed the start of construction of this project, see July 13, 2015, article - Grain Belt Express Transmission Project Blocked by Missouri Regulators.

Kansas has 34 other wind power projects that have been cancelled or placed on hold, typically for permitting or financing reasons. Last year's extension of the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) could bring some of those projects back into the "active" column.

The PTC is a five-year tax credit that declines 20% each year. Projects that begin construction this year are eligible for the full 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated for up to 10 years. But projects that begin turning dirt in 2017 are only eligible to receive 80% of that credit, and projects that kick off construction in 2018 are only eligible for 60% of the credit. For more on the extension of the PTC, see December 21, 2015, article - Renewable, Alternative Energy Industries Cheer Extensions of Tax Credits and January 15, 2016, article - Extension of PTC and ITC Could Bring Some Renewable Energy Projects Back from the Dead.

These Kansas windfarm projects are under construction:

• Ninnescah Windfarm, a 200-MW, $388 million grassroot project being developed by NextEra Energy Resources (Juno Beach, Florida), a unit of NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida). This project, located in Pratt County, is scheduled to be operating by early 2017.
• Kingman County Wind Energy Center, also being developed by NextEra Resources, is a 222-MW, $635 million project. It is slated to be operating by next spring.
• Western Plains Windfarm, a 280-MW project being co-developed by Westar Energy Incorporated (NYSE:WR) (Topeka, Kanas) and Infinity Renewables (Santa Barbara, California). This $435 million project, being built in Ford County, is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2016.
• Cimarron Bend Windfarm, located in Clark County. This $305 million, 200-MW project is being developed by Enel Green Power North America Incorporated (Andover, Massachusetts), a unit of Enel Spa (Rome, Italy). It is expected to be completed by yearend 2016.
• Bloom Windfarm, a 178-MW. $272 million project being built in Ford County. This project is being developed by Capital Power Corporation (Boston, Massachusetts). This project began site preparation over this past summer, and construction is expected to be finished by next summer.

Some of the Kansas wind power projects that have not broken ground include:

• Salt Springs Windfarm, another project owned by Capital Power Corporation, is slated to be built in Hodgeman County. It's a 200-MW, $400 million project that is expected to begin construction in late 2017. The developer expects the project to be operating by mid-2019.
• Doyle Windfarm, expected to be built in Marion County, is being developed by SunWind Energy Group L.L.L.P (Henderson, Nevada). This 200-MW, $400 million project is expected to kick off construction in early 2018 and be operating by mid-2019.

"The market is saying it wants more clean energy from the heartland, but getting a lot of that wind-derived electricity out of Kansas and into other states depends to a large degree on the decision of Kansas utility regulators," said Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Global Power Industry. "Not all of the Kansas wind power projects we are tracking are dependent on the Grain Belt Express getting built, but building that project would be like creating a six-lane electricity superhighway between the Midwest and the Southeast."

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