Project Location:
West of Salina, Kansas about 20 miles, and just north of Interstate 70 on both sides of Highway 14. The project is located in both Lincoln and Ellsworth Counties.
Project Interconnection:
Midwest Energy 230 kV transmission line in Ellsworth, County.
Project Size (Phase I):
100.8 MW (Phase II is an additional 150 MWs)
Project Turbines:
1.8 MW V80 turbines manufactured by Vestas, with an 80-meter hub height and 80-meter blade diameter.
Landowners and Acreage Involved:
Over 30 landowners and 12,000 acres are involved in the project.
Commercial Operation:
February 2008.
Utility Buyers:
The power produced by the facility is being sold to Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, Midwest Energy, Inc., and the Kansas City, Kansas Board of Public Utilities.
Project Developer:
TradeWind Energy headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas.
Project Owner:
The project is owned by Enel North America, Inc. the wholly owned subsidiary of Enel, SpA.
Key Project Attributes:
- Phase I generates enough electricity in an average year to power approximately 30,000 Kansas homes, and is believed to be the most energetic site of any wind project in development in the state of Kansas.
- The project takes only about 1-2 percent of land out of service to build, including all land for roads, turbine foundations, and maintenance buildings.
- The project is ideally located on a major interstate highway, creating significant opportunities for education and tourism focusing on renewable energy production, plus ease of access to and from the project site.
- The project has more than 120 landowners participating and collecting royalty payments from the project, and also utilizes significant local labor and materials for its construction and operations.
- The project fits well with the surrounding area in terms of the existing infrastructure and commercial activities, and enjoys broad community support.
- The project was built because it represents the low cost option for wholesale electricity purchases for the utility-buyers, in addition to the significant environmental benefits of the project.
- The project (Phase I) offsets approximately 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, 1,000 tons of NOx per year, and 1,400 tons of SO2 per year.