Montezuma — Along with electricity, the new Montezuma wind farm is generating interest from landowners who say they too have acres, and wind, to offer.
"Everybody wants one," said Rusty Hurt, project manager for the recently opened Gray County Wind Farm in Montezuma.
Someone calls to offer land about every two hours during weekdays, he said.
Hurt doesn't have much good news for his callers.
Engineering and economic issues, rather than the desires of individual landowners, have a lot to do with finding sites for wind farms.
Callers might be interested in renewable energy. They might be interested in money, too. Landowners involved with the Montezuma wind farm receive about $2,000 a year for each windmill.
FPL Energy, the Florida-based company that built the Gray County Wind Farm, expresses interest in starting other farms in Kansas, but isn't saying where, or when.
Hurt said FPL Energy began getting calls from interested landowners as soon as the first of 170 windmills went up in Montezuma. In addition, the farm's dedication in December drew widespread publicity, prompting more calls.
Spread over 12,000 acres, the windmills are 200 feet tall and generate enough power for 33,000 homes. UtiliCorp United Inc., which serves Lee's Summit. Mo., and other Kansas City, Mo.-area cities, buys the power.
Developers consider several factors when deciding where to put a wind farm, Hurt said. Among them: The area should be rural, so as few people as possible will be disrupted. Transmission lines adequate for carrying the electricity should be close by. Nearby communities should be supportive.
Also, of course, the wind must blow consistently.
Studies have found that Kansas particularly the southwest part of the state and the Flint Hills is generally a good place for windmills.
Hurt said development of new wind farms will be delayed while Congress debates whether to extend a federal tax credit for the industry. But the names of landowners who contact his office are sent to the company's Florida headquarters.
There is a chance the company might contact one or more of them, he said, but only a small chance.
Elaine Hostetler of Prairie Village, who owns about 400 acres north of Concordia, is typical of those who wish their land would be considered.
"I think electricity generated from wind is such a great thing," she said. "We shouldn't be so dependent on petroleum."
Meanwhile, she noted, grain prices are not good, and income from electricity-producing windmills looks very good.
But she knows the odds of a wind farm blowing onto her property aren't so good. "I consider it a long shot," she said.
The interest in wind farms is no surprise to Tom Kneil of Wichita, a longtime Sierra Club volunteer who recently wrote about wind energy for the environmental group's newsletter.
"As I talked with ranchers and landowners, they were very much interested," he said. "It's a win-win situation, a win for them financially and a win for the community in terms of getting a solid energy source."
No comments
Commenting is turned off for this story.