May 7, 2012
Kansas

County to hear from wind energy co. at tonight’s meeting

By ROBERT PIERCE, Leader & Times, www.leaderandtimes.com 7 May 2012

In Southwest Kansas, it is a fact of life that the wind blows frequently, and some people have taken advantage of that with the advent of wind farms in the area to power electricity.
More turbines may be coming to the area, in particular to Seward and Meade County, in the near future. According to information from Energy For Generations, construction on the Cimarron Wind Project is expected be a phased build-out starting in 2014-2015.
Officials with E4G will talk to Seward County commissioners this evening about the milliwatt project.
The CWP holds long-term leases for about 45,000 contiguous acres, of which 2 to 3 percent will be disturbed by the project’s construction and operation.
“The project is designed to be compatible with the existing agricultural operations on the properties,” E4G officials said.
The CWP is located on a site with one of the top wind resources in the U.S., and wind data has been gathered since 2008 by meteorological towers across the site. Three years of data demonstrate average wind speeds of 9 meters per second at a hub height of 85 meters.
E4G also commissioned a portfolio of environmental studies in order to proactively identify and avoid any potentially sensitive environmental areas or species in the area.
A comprehensive environmental review as well as wetlands, habitat, cultural and avian assessments were also conducted by nationally-recognized environmental experts.
“All studies concluded that the project would create no significant adverse impacts,” E4G’s information said.
The company has executed a memorandum of understanding with Clean Line Energy, making for multiple transmission and delivery options, including:
• From Southwest Kansas to the eastern U.S.;
• From Northwest Oklahoma to the southeastern U.S.; and
• An interconnection to the Clark County substation near Minneola.
“A 345 kilovolt generation tie-line will be built to deliver the project’s generation to one of these transmission options,” E4G said in its information.
The Cimarron Wind Project is an Oklahoma limited liability company wholly owned by Energy For Generations.
The commission meeting will start at 5:30 p.m. today in the commission chambers in the Seward County Administration Building.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/05/07/county-to-hear-from-wind-energy-co-at-tonights-meeting/