Dodge City ? A proposed wind farm near Spearville has cleared its first hurdle with the Ford County Zoning Board endorsing the project.

The board on Monday voted 5-0 to approve Palm Springs, Calif.-based enXco’s plan for a wind farm, provided turbines were at least 500 feet from public roads. The company also must pay for upgrading any township roads that are damaged during construction.

The final decision on whether to grant a conditional-use permit for the project rests with the Ford County Commission, which is scheduled to consider the proposal Sept. 15.

Paul White, enXco’s Midwest project director, said the company planned to build a wind farm that would contain at least 60 turbines in a 50- to 60-square mile area north of U.S. Highway 50 near Spearville, a township known as the “City of Windmills.”

The Gray County Wind Farm in Montezuma is the only wind farm that has been built in Kansas, though several others are planned.

The Spearville wind farm, which would generate up to 200 megawatts of energy, would not interfere with normal agricultural activities, White said.

The company hopes to have a full list of customers and begin construction sometime in 2004.