Cottonwood Falls ? A Florida company that wants to make use of the winds blowing across the Great Plains to generate electricity has taken Chase County off its list of potential locations.

The idea of 400-foot tall wind turbines dotting the scenic Flint Hills had raised concerns from many in Kansas, including Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

“You don’t put ’em on the edge of the Grand Canyon and you don’t put ’em in the Flint Hills,” said Larry Patton, a Chase County landowner.

In the face of opposition, Florida Power and Light Co. announced last week it had shelved its plans for Chase County.

Company spokesman Steve Stengel said because one of its customers needed the power from a wind farm next year, “we didn’t have the time to let the debate or discussion play itself out.” He said the company would look elsewhere in Kansas and surrounding states for a place to locate a wind farm.

Stengel wouldn’t offer specifics, but also wouldn’t rule out taking another look at Chase County some time in the future, calling it a good location.

Sebelius’ spokeswoman, Nicole Corcoran, said the governor “has been pretty clear” about asking companies interested in developing projects in the Flint Hills to show restraint until a consensus could be reached on how to protect the tallgrass prairie.

In June, the Wind and Prairie Task Force, whose members were appointed by the governor, came up with three recommendations for preserving the grassland, identifying protected areas and perhaps reconsidering the permanent tax exemption now available for wind farm development.

Supporters of wind energy view it as a method of generating revenue for developers and user fees for land owners. The Flint Hills area in Kansas is viewed as the best location in the state not only because of consistent winds, but also its proximity to existing transmission lines.

Not everyone welcomed the news that Florida Power and Light had decided against trying to proceed in Chase County. The company would have made annual payments of about $500,000 in lieu of property taxes for the next 25 years, with almost $200,000 going to the Chase County school system.

That kind of money “can make you sit up and pay attention,” superintendent Rick Weiss said.

He said the district could have used that money to maintain an after-school program that loses its funding this year, as well as to start a preschool program and buy one or two new buses each year.

“Those were things that we needed and could provide the educational opportunities to our students that we know would have enabled them to become more successful,” Weiss said.

Stengel also said his company would have given another $425,000 to buy and preserve tallgrass prairie somewhere in the Flint Hills, Stengel said.

“It’s a complicated thing,” Chase County Commissioner Gary Bruch said. “You’ve got to look at the big picture.”

He said that a wind farm would provide “quite an economic boost to the county,” but added, “you can’t sell our soul.”

Recommendations from the governor’s task force are to be implemented by the Kansas Energy Council, with guidance to protect the tallgrass prairie while also aggressively promoting wind farm development.

The council must decide how much of the Flint Hills, and which parts of the area, should be protected from development.

“It’s definitely too early to make that decision,” said Lee Allison, the council chairman.