Climate and energy

Via Dan Nagengast – the Kansas Rural Center is kicking off one of many upcoming forums on developing the wind resources of Kansas. FYI, a very interesting article (I think maybe inspired by this press release?) on the wind boom appeared in the Hutch News.

Stop before you sign. Look both ways. Proceed with caution! There are easier ways to go about this process, and then there are harder ways. Educate yourself, and learn more. Attending one of Dan’s forums is a great place to start.

Release reprinted in its entirety:

For Immediate Release–

South Central Kansas Regional Wind Energy Event Planned for March 26

With talk of wind as an alternative energy source for south-central Kansas, a wind energy summit is being planned for area producers, wind energy enthusiasts, landowners, county commissioners, city commissioners and other interested parties.

The South Central Kansas Regional Wind Energy Summit will be held on March 26, 2008 at Kingman High School, Kingman, KS. This educational event will be from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Please register by March 24, 2008 for an accurate lunch count. A variety of presenters and topics of discussion will be featured at this meeting.

Steve Errebo, Lincoln County Commissioner, will give an overview of an entire completed wind farm project. He is a member of the Kansas Wind Working Group formed by Governor Kathleen Sebelius and led by Lt. Governor, Mark Parkinson. His experience will be a valuable resource for the purpose of the summit.

Several individuals, businesses and communities have looked at or questioned the ability to produce wind energy from their own generators. Tom Wind (yes his real name) will be presenting a webinar. He is a co-developer of the Hardin Hilltop Wind Farm, which is the first community-owned wind farm to take advantage of the Iowa tax credit incentives passed in 2005. As a consulting engineer, he specializes in wind generation projects and in the integration of large wind turbines into the utility grid system. Tom is a member of the American Wind Energy Association as well as several other related organizations and will provide insight into developing community wind energy.

Once generators are in place, how will the energy be transmitted to the end user? Kimberly Gencur Svaty will discuss transmission lines presently in south-central Kansas and also statewide. Having worked in the energy and transmission industries for several years, she is familiar with the transmission picture in Kansas. Her presentation will help the audience understand this issue.

The summit will include two breakout sessions. One session will focus on landowner leasing issues. Mike Irvin, an attorney with the Kansas Farm Bureau Legal Foundation will share the leasing picture from the landowner and legal perspective. Mike also serves on the Kansas Wind Working Group.

Another breakout session features Steve Errebo sharing from an elected official perspective. This session is open to any interested persons. His background with the Lincoln County Wind Energy project will help educate attendees about issues facing the development of wind energy in their counties and communities.

Across the state and nation, wind energy groups are creating coalitions to assure that best practices are utilized in new projects. Roger Masenthin, coordinator for Sunflower RC&D Area, Inc. will facilitate as the audience explores opportunities for building local coalitions that will provide leadership now and in the future for south-central Kansas wind development.

PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED BY MARCH 24 TO ATTEND AND FOR AN ACCURATE LUNCH COUNT. REGISTRATION FORMS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES OR BY CONTACTING ANY OF THE SPONSORS LISTED BELOW:

• Kansas Rural Center – www.kansasruralcenter.org
  Sunflower RC&D – www.sunflowerrcd.net
• Sumner County Economic Development Commission – www.gosumner.com

If you have questions, you may contact any one of the sponsoring agencies which include Sumner County Economic Development Commission 620-326-8779; Kansas Rural Center 785-748-0959; Sunflower RC& D 620-896-7378; Kingman County Farm Bureau 620-532-6721; and the Kingman County Economic Development Council 620-532-3694.

— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org