Discovering Kansas' Wind Energy Resources‏

The American Wind Energy Association ranks the state of Kansas as the third top area in the nation for wind energy resources. The state is set to produce more than 1,000 megawatts of wind generated power by the end of the year, but authorities say that the state has the natural resources to produce five or six times that amount.

The conversion of wind into energy, like electricity, is an energy conservation method that uses wind turbines to do the job. Wind actually only produces 1% of the world's energy, but it is a production method that is catching on quickly. The wind farms that harness the wind's energy usually transfer that power to the closest electric power transmission station, so that the electricity can be used by utility companies. Historically, people have harnessed the wind's energy for the last five thousand years to sail ships, or they have converted it to energy used for pumping water or grinding grain.

Many ancient societies constructed wind-powered ventilation systems in their buildings. Though many complain about the unreliability of the wind as a power source in alternative energy plans, its inconsistency hardly ever causes any problems currently, since wind power is only used to furnish a small percentage of total electrical resources. The actual strength of wind speed varies; it is difficult to estimate the power source that wind could supply any particular area, including Kansas.

The Pickens Plan, a nationwide agenda that seeks to lessen the country's dependence on oil, wants to initiate a line of vehicles that would run on natural gas (as petroleum is 96% of the energy consumed in the transportation energy sector). In order for natural gas to be used in transportation methods, Pickens asks that wind energy replace natural gas for electricity resources. The problem is there is more demand than wind power can currently meet; wind simply doesn't exist at all times.

This past summer, a Kansas community held an opening ceremony for a new alternative energy resource at Flat Ridge Wind Farm in Kansas. This new site will eventually offer 100 megawatts of carbon-free electric power to the community by the end of the year. The future energy generating resource is located outside of Wichita some sixty miles southwest. The technology Flat Ridge plans on using includes 40 Clipper 2.5 megawatt C-96 wind turbine generators, which happen to be the largest wind turbines built in the United States. The wind project, which is being constructed in Barber County, Kansas, was developed by BP Alternative Energy North America, Inc.

Established in December of 2005, the Elk River Wind Project is Kansas' largest resource for alternative wind power. It's a 150 megawatt resource facility owned by Elk River Wind Farm LLC of Larkspur, California. The farm lies east of Wichita about 45 miles, and is actually primarily used for cattle grazing on its nearly 8,000 acres. Empire District Electric Company purchases power resources from the facility, and it hopes to someday purchase enough electricity to meet 42,000 homes' resource needs.

Gretchen Vuvalgee shares information with homeowners. Check out:
http://www.localrestorations.com/Kansas