Wind Power News: Kansas
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Sneaky snake pushes wind farm to Grant County
Forget mass protests. Sometimes all it takes to derail a major industrial project is an itty-bitty snake. About seven years ago, Finney County was on the verge of landing the Buffalo Dunes Wind Farm, a 250-megawatt project that includes 135 turbines that eventually spread over land in Haskell and Grant counties, until concerns raised about disturbing the habitat of the longnose snake pushed the project farther west. Lona Duvall, president of the Finney County Economic Development Corp., said the Sierra . . .
Wind turbine collapses for no obvious reason
A mystery lies on the ground on the west side of Greensburg following an unexplained wind generator collapse on May 11 at 12:53 p.m. The wind generator supplied power to the Kiowa County Memorial Hospital and was one of two units serving the hospital. On May 11, a man was mowing grass for the city near the wind generator and decided to take a lunch break. As he sat in his pickup and was eating, the wind generator broke off . . .
Reno County Commission asked to zone land within 5 mile radius of former air base
A representative of a nonprofit organization that operates the Sunflower gliderport at the former Hutchinson Air Base south of Yoder asked the Reno County Commission on Tuesday to zone a 5-mile radius around the old airport to control potential development of windfarms in the region. The commission was initially scheduled to hold a public hearing Tuesday on a request for a permit for a meteorological tower on land next to the runway, but the applicant withdrew the zoning request prior . . .
Douglas County Commission to revisit wind turbine regulations
Ten months after adopting regulations for wind energy towers, the Douglas County Commission on Wednesday will consider a text amendment to county codes that further defines terms in the regulations. Consideration of the amendment will be during the 6 p.m. time slot reserved for controversial issues or planning and zoning issues that require pubic hearings. Wind towers in rural Douglas County were controversial in November 2013, when NextEra Energy sought permits to install two wind measurement towers in southern Douglas . . .
BP weighing upgrade of U.S. wind turbines to compete with gas
BP Plc is weighing plans to update as many as 200 of its U.S. wind turbines with newer, higher-capacity equipment, a move that would represent the company’s biggest investment in renewable energy since its last wind farm came online in 2012. If the company green lights the project – a decision that could be reached by mid-year – it would represent about 400 megawatts of capacity. Laura Folse, chief executive of BP Wind Energy, said the move would allow the U.K. energy . . .
Narrow roads and overgrown trees a county problem
Tim Branscom, county zoning administrator, said a resident in the wind farm area has complained that he is having issues receiving TV signals from his antenna. Since the wind farm went active, it has knocked down his number of channels. The resident contacted NextEra and the problem was checked but no problem with the system could be found. NextEra was contacted again and the representative offered the resident a one-time payment for the problem, Branscom said. According to the NextEra agreement, if the operator causes the problem, they have to take timely measures to fix it. The problem has been going on for a month and he is the only one that has complained, Branscom said.
‘It all sounds positive’; Wind developer says it may lease more land here than first planned
County commissioners learned a tantalizing piece of information in a phone call Monday morning with the development manager of a proposed wind farm in Republic and Washington counties. Sam Massey, development manager in Kansas for NextEra Energy, told the board the company has 40,000 acres under lease, and another 13,000 acres near agreement. “But they also said they may be able to get up to 100,000 acres leased between the two counties, best case scenario,” said Luke Mahin, Republic County . . .
Lawsuit seeks to stop Sumner County wind farm
Sumner County residents are on opposite sides of a project to bring in another wind farm. The company Invenergy received a conditional use permit and rezoning approval from the Sumner County Commission to put in their Argyle Creek Wind Project. But a lawsuit filed last week in Sumner County asks a District Court to strike the permit. Nearly 60 Sumner County residents are named in the suit, which claims the project was ramrodded through without residents being properly notified of . . .
Wind farm worries trail enthusiasts
Santa Fe Trail enthusiasts are concerned that a new wind farm proposed for northern Marion County could damage sections of the trail that runs through the county. “We realize a wind tower is a benefit to the landowner,” said Steve Schmidt, president of the Cottonwood Crossing Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association. “We are just looking for a balance.” Schmidt said he became aware of the proposed wind farm early in 2015. The association’s primary goal is to prevent . . .
County OKs wind tower permit
A MET (meteorological) tower to measure wind velocity, direction and other information soon will be erected southeast of Navarre. Data gathered by the MET tower likely will be used to expand a wind farm – the Diamond Vista Wind Project— under development in Marion and McPherson counties. Dickinson County commissioners on Thursday approved a conditional use permit to Tradewind Energy of Lenexa to install the tower south of 1100 Avenue, east of Mink Road, on private property. The CUP application previously . . .
