Going Green: Businesses gauge political winds
Kansas, Missouri draft plans to expand wind energy
Kansas City Business Journal - by Ellen Jensen Contributing Writer
August 15, 2008
Wind energy has stepped into the limelight as the energy crisis continues.
Achieving a 20 percent wind contribution to the U.S. electricity supply by 2030 would
reduce carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation by 25 percent in 2030,
according to a Department of Energy technical report.
Neither Kansas nor Missouri has a large amount of wind power operating right now.
Missouri has just more than 150 megawatts, and Kansas will have 1,000 megawatts
operating by the end of this year, said Rob Freeman, CEO of TradeWind Energy LLC.
However, Kansas is ranked third nationally for wind energy potential, and Missouri is
ranked 20th, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
“Both states have the potential to contribute a considerably larger quantity of wind power
than they currently do,” Freeman said.
There is a clear correlation between legislation and action. The states that have built the
most wind power — Minnesota and Texas, for example — have set mandates on
renewable energy production. In 1999, there were no wind turbines in Texas on a
commercial scale. Now, Texas ranks first in the country in existing wind energy capacity.
Developers and utilities fulfilled a state mandate and took advantage of federal tax credits
to get it done.
“It was about a decision to make it happen,” said Rick Anderson of the Missouri
Department of Natural Resources’ Energy Center, and Texas had the three key
ingredients in place: public interest, rules of play and buyers.
Missouri has a ballot initiative in the works; a nonprofit group has gotten the signatures it
needs to put a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) on the ballot for voters to consider in
November.
“If voters pass the renewable portfolio standard in November, precedent suggests that
Missouri will be successful in meeting its goal,” Freeman said.
Missouri is not as windy as Kansas but still has a viable wind resource, mostly in the
northwest part of the state. It also has the first town in the United States — Rock Port —
to generate more power from wind than it uses in a year, said Mark Johnson, a partner in
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP’s energy, environment and natural resources division.
“Missouri should think in terms of hitting a 15 to 20 percent target with its own wind
resources,” Freeman said. “Exporting is probably not an option, but it wouldn’t need to
acquire wind energy from other states.”
Kansas has a far greater wind resource than it can use, so there is an opportunity to build
out more for export to other markets, Freeman said. Market and transmission constraints
would limit the number of wind power deals that get done in Kansas before the state runs
out of areas to develop good wind resources.
Kansas government agencies and industry groups have suggested a target of 8,000 to
10,000 megawatts that Kansas could contribute to the national 20 percent goal. Of that,
Kansas might use 3,000 megawatts for itself and export the rest to other states, Freeman
said.
Kansas could develop as much as 7,100 megawatts by 2030, according to the Kansas
Corporation Commission. If it reaches that goal, the economic impact for the state would
be great. By 2030, the estimated royalties would be about $20 million a year. Tax
revenue would be $19 million a year. During the construction phase, wind energy would
employ 11,000 with a payroll of $1.35 billion. After becoming operational, wind energy
would create about 1,800 long-term jobs and bring $152 million a year to local
economies.
Obstacles
Wind energy has a lot going for it. It is clean, sustainable and available almost
everywhere in the United States. Still, to reach its potential, it must overcome several
barriers:
• Inconsistent legislative policy creates a barrier to wind energy development.
• Most wind farms are located in remote areas where there are not large transmission
lines, and the federal rules for transmission are in flux, said Rick Anderson of the
Missouri Department of Natural Resources’ Energy Center.
• Typical coal plants run at 80 percent capacity; wind farms run at 40 percent, said Jack
Marvin, a partner in Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP’s Wichita office.
• Electric grid managers need to be flexible so they can take advantage of the wind when
it’s available but switch back to conventional energy sources when it’s not, Anderson
said.
• The lack of a domestic supply of equipment for the industry also hurts wind energy,
said Rob Freeman, CEO of TradeWind Energy LLC.
• Wind projects typically are not built until a developer has a long-term contract with a
utility, Anderson said.
Ellen Jensen | Jensen is a freelance writer in the Kansas City area.