Wind Turbines Sprouting on Elk County Prairie

[kshillbillys]

There are 111 Vesta wind turbines sprouting up in the tallgrass prairie of Elk County just west of Howard that will eventually provide enough wind power to supply electricity to 70,000 households.
The turbines that make up the Caney River Wind Project will stand 270-feet in the air on concrete towers, poured with 370 yards of concrete each, on 14,000 acres of land and can be seen for miles while approaching Howard. The site is located approximately 11 miles west of Howard in Elk County, recognized as one of Kansas' poorest counties.
From the Caney River project site, another wind farm located in Beaumont, closer to the Wichita area is visible, but the two sites are not connected in any way.
The Elk County project, owned by Enel Green Power North America, is expected to have an economic impact on the businesses and residents of Elk County of at least approximately $3 million annually through lease agreements with land owners and payments in lieu of taxes to the county. The project's contributions to the county will represent a 50 percent increase in annual revenues, according to Kossara Marchinkova, director of external relations and communications for Enel North America.
While the project is destined to help Elk County economically, another purpose of the wind farm is to alleviate or avoid the emission of over 580,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year into the atmosphere, which is what would be created by generating an equivalent amount of power through other means.
K.R. Liebau, chairman of the Elk County Commission, applauded Enel and its subcontractors for their congeniality during the negotiating process and since the construction on the project started.
"Those people have been wonderful to work with," Liebau said. "We negotiated the contract and they have done the things that have given Elk County an economic boost."
"They have used Cornejo Rock Company in Moline for most of their rock, which allowed those guys to hire some additional people at pretty decent wages, and the pizza places and service stations have done quite a lot of business. I'm guessing the little service station there in Moline has fixed more tires since the project started than he ever has," Liebau said.
Liebau said the Caney River Project will pay Elk County $990,000 per year for the next 20 years with a 2 percent increase every year after that.
"If the three of us on the county commission can't operate this county on an extra $990,000 per year maybe the people ought to elect some new commissioners," Liebau said with a laugh.
He said the contractors have done a good job of using local businesses for supplies and goods since the inception of the project.
"It's been good to Elk County," Liebau said.
Substantial completion of  the Caney River project is set for the end of December 2011, while the final completion date is not set until the end of the first quarter of 2012, according to Bernie Holst, Enel's vice president of engineering and construction for wind, headquartered in San Diego, Calif.
Holst said that of the 111 wind turbines that will dot the landscape, 51 are currently fully constructed.
"We have 51 of the turbines constructed and 80 of the towers set so far," Holst said. "We have received delivery of 82 of the turbines to the site, and there are actually 12 of the turbines currently generating power at the Caney River site."
Joe Conti, the assistant site manager, said the turbines that were spinning in the 30 mph winds were generating power. Keith Abshier works as the site manager for Enel.
"You can see the wind blowing those turbines over there. They are generating power at full capacity right now," Conti said.
He said the winds on the hill average up to 10 miles per hour, but some days the wind speeds are much greater.
"I understand yesterday (Tuesday) the winds were blowing at about 30 mph and would have been a great day for us to have all 111 turbines operating and generating power," Holst said.
"It would have been a great day for generating power but not for having people on the cranes putting the towers together," Holst said.
Holst said there will be 10 electrical circuits sending power from the site and eight to 12 of the turbines will be hooked up to each circuit.
The wind farm is being designed to generate 200 megawatts of wind power to the area. The Tennessee Valley Authority will distribute the power. Holst did not know where the 70,000 homes that will benefit would be located.
Since the construction was initiated there has been an electric substation constructed on the site, and nearly 38 miles of road have been built.
Holst also said an operations and maintenance facility that will house 15 to 18 people on site daily has been completed.
"The Caney River Wind Project was developed by EGP NA's development partner Trade Wind Energy and has a power purchase agreement with the TVA. Once fully operational, the wind farm will generate 765 million kilowatt hours of power annually," according to a press release put out by Enel Green Power.
The project will assist the economy of Elk County in the long run, but at present the hundreds of workers flocking to the site are generating economic benefits in terms of rental housing, motel stays and food and fuel.
"I've been in Howard since February, and the project began in May here at this site," Conti said.
Conti said there are approximately 300-350 workers on site in different capacities, as the wind turbines begin to dot the landscape of Elk County.
Because he was one of the first on site, Conti got the first pick of possible locations to reside while the wind farm is under construction.
"I am renting an attic apartment in Howard," Conti said.
"All these men and women are generating economic development in Howard, Elk County and throughout this area. This should be and is a big boost to this area."
Enel's overall investment in the project amounts to approximately $350 million.
The Caney River Wind Project is committed to funding for a Native Environment Conservation Plan focused on the tallgrass prairie in Kansas. The money is expected to fund the purchase of conservation easements for over 18,000 acres, the restoration of 6,000 acres of tallgrass prairie habitat and wind and wildlife research focused on this eco-region, according to Enel.
EGP-NA, a part of Enel Green Power, is a leading owner and operator of renewable energy plants in North America with projects operating and under development in 21 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces.
EGP-NA owns and operates over 70 plants with an installed capacity of around 800 megawatts powered by renewable hydropower, wind, geothermal, solar and biomass energy. Together with its development partners (TradeWind Energy, LLC and Geronimo Wind Energy, LLC) EGP-NA is aiming to double its total installed capacity within the next few years.
Holst said Enel's partner, TradeWind Energy, was responsible for finding and selecting the Elk County site for the Caney River project.
Enel Green Power is an industry leader worldwide thanks to some 22 billion kilowatt hours generated from water, sun, wind and geothermal, meeting the energy needs of some eight million households and avoiding 16 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. The company has an installed capacity of more than 6,100 megawatts, with over 650 facilities around the world and a generation mix that includes wind, solar, hydro, geothermal and biomass.
In terms of wind power, according to EGP-NA, they operate 405 megawatts of wind power in Kansas, New York, Minnesota and Canada. The Smoky Hills Wind Farm in Kansas, located near Salina, is the largest in Enel's worldwide portfolio (155 turbines, 250 megawatts). The Snyder Wind Farm in Texas boasts the largest turbines in the Americas at 345 feet.
While the Caney River facility is under construction, a 150 megawatt Rocky Ridge Wind Farm in Oklahoma is scheduled to begin construction by the end of 2011. -----Story by Allen Smith, Independence Reporter, Sunday Edition, Living Section November 6, 2011

[Wilma]

Robert and Jennifer:  A great big thank you for posting this.  I have learned more from it than from all the other things that I have heard and read.  Thank you again. 

And for the people who wonder why I didn't just read the paper for myself, I don't get the Independence paper, something that is seeming more and more desirable every day. 

[Patriot]

Liebau said the Caney River Project will pay Elk County $990,000 per year for the next 20 years with a 2 percent increase every year after that.

One would think the Chairman of our county commission could at least get his facts straight.

The accurate statement should have been, "We receive $4500 per nameplate megawatt capacity of producing units, and that $4500 increases by 2% each year after the first year.  The duration of the agreement is 20 years."  Small detail I suppose, but shouldn't people we entrust with such things at least be accurate in their public statements?  I could br wrong, but as I read the PILOT Agreement, we won't get the full $900,000, not $990,000, this year (200MW x $4500) unless the project is capable of producing 200 Megawats this year.  We'll see.

[srkruzich]

saw on fox today where windturbines are interfering with our nations security as well as weather forcasting.  Seems that they create a magnetic field which blocks radar in the area. 

[Patriot]

saw on fox today where windturbines are interfering with our nations security as well as weather forcasting.  Seems that they create a magnetic field which blocks radar in the area. 

Liberal elitist environmentalists... big plans.... new projects... unintended consequences.  Surely not!

[Ross]

Stimulus Money paid to foreign companies building wind farms.  
How many billions or trillions of dollars in profit do we have to export before we wise up?
Enel is on one of the list below, Enel is an Italalian owned company. However, I have read that the government has quit releasing information about these grants.
I can't find anything upp to date on this subject.

This link talks about a Mexican Company
The Peñascal Wind Farm is operated by PPM Energy, a Spanish company with North American headquarters in Portland, Ore.
Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/environment/article/S-Texas-wind-farm-wins-114M-in-funding-847761.php#ixzz1cyp0jX8k
Interesting reading.

Renewable energy money still going abroad, despite criticism from Congress
In fact, the largest grant made under the program so far, a $178 million payment on Dec. 29, went to Babcock & Brown, a bankrupt Australian company that built a Texas wind farm using turbines made by a Japanese company.
http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/wind-energy-funds-going-overseas/story/renewable-energy-money-still-going-abroad/

10's of Millions in grants, just a few of them:
http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/wind-energy-funds-going-overseas/htmlmulti/map-wind-stimulus-recipients-receiving-awards-work/

Here are a bunch more Grants one for $178,004,264:
http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/wind-energy-funds-going-overseas/story/renewable-energy-stimulus-grants/

This link is special
Powerful Democrats help Chinese energy firm chase stimulus money:
Top Democratic fundraisers and lobbyists with links to the White House are behind a proposed wind farm in Texas that stands to get $450 million in stimulus money, even though a Chinese company would operate the farm and its turbines would be built in China.
http://investigativereportingworkshop.org/investigations/wind-energy-funds-going-overseas/story/powerful-democrats-help-chinese-e/

How many billions or trillions of dollars in profit do we have to export before we wise up?

[Ross]

saw on fox today where windturbines are interfering with our nations security as well as weather forcasting.  Seems that they create a magnetic field which blocks radar in the area. 

What bigger threat do you need threatening our nations security besides the massive export of cash to foreign countries that I just posted?

[srkruzich]

whatever happened to the law requiring that if you got a grant you had to hire americans

[Ross]

Did you know the wind turbins for our wind farm ar built in Sweden. More money exported.

[flintauqua]

Try reading this piece of information before assuming you know where things come from:

http://www.vestas.com/en/media/news/news-display.aspx?action=3&NewsID=2673

"Vestas' Colorado-based factories will be involved in manufacturing the blades and towers, as well as nacelle and hub assembly, for the Caney River project, which will be the third-largest wind farm in Kansas. This project will provide direct and indirect economic benefits to Elk County in terms of long-term jobs and property-tax revenues generated from the turbines."