Climate and energy

If you have seen the map of proposed wind developments in Kansas, then that headline makes a whole lot of sense. Actually I will post said map (from the Kansas Energy Information Network – and here is the link to the original pdf).

Current as of 01/09

From the Gazette:

WHEN it comes to mapping wind power, Kansas looks like it might have measles. That’s if you’re looking at the Kansas Energy Information Network’s map of proposed and existing wind-power projects in the state.

The map can be seen on the network’s Web site, www.kansasenergy.org/wind_projects.htm. On it, the state’s existing wind farms — all six of them — are marked by green triangles. Wind farms under construction are marked by blue squares. There are three blue squares on the map.

What dominates the map are the little red circles (measles) that indicate proposed wind-power projects. It is difficult to count them without going cross-eyed, but there appear to be about 40 proposed projects in the state, and that does not include the Lyon County proposal that was the subject of a report in Friday’s Gazette.

If all of those proposals were to become reality, Kansas would be close to meeting Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ goal of producing 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy in the state. But several things would have to happen to make that happen.

The most immediate problems for increasing the use of wind power in Kansas are money and transmission lines.

Money is tight for just about any commercial project right now, and leases cannot be acquired and turbines built and installed without the money on hand to pay for it.

The federal government may solve the money problem. Wind and solar energy are likely to be the focus of President-elect Barack Obama’s plans to increase the production and use of renewable energy. The energy plan is also likely to be used as part of the new administration’s push to modernize the nation’s infrastructure as part of its economic-recovery program.

Money is likely to be available also. But building new high-capacity lines is not as simple as drawing lines on a map and going out to string the wire. Getting environmental approval for transmission line and acquiring the necessary rights of way takes lots of time. All other things being equal, the wind-power projects most likely to be built first are those that are already close to existing high-capacity lines.

Western Kansas has plenty of wind, but that region’s lack of transmission capacity is one of the reasons many of those little red dots on the map have yet to grow up to be useful green triangles.

Here is the good news for Lyon County and the landowners whose land is being considered for the wind-power project: The county sits in the middle of a tight triangle of high-capacity power lines. That’s one of the reasons Westar Energy built the Emporia Energy Center here. If RES Americas gets serious about erecting wind turbines in the county, the company should have an easy time hooking into the state and national power grids.

A wind farm in Lyon County would be a great boost to the economy. Alternative-fuel plants, such as the one still planned for Emporia, are nice, but sales of biodiesel and ethanol are subject to many market forces that cannot be forecast. But everybody — always — needs electricity.

Patrick S. Kelley, Editorial Page Editor