Online since last March the wind farm a few miles southwest of Greensburg has been steadily producing electricity, first for the 800 or so souls in town, and secondly for other folks on the Kansas Power Pool grid.
With the ten turbines capable of producing a maximum of 12.5 megawatts, City Administrator Steve Hewitt told The Signal, “From March up until now it’s (wind farm) been online around 80 to 85 percent of the time. We (Greensburg) get our three megawatts from it and the rest goes on to the grid.”
Owing to the capricious nature of wind, Hewitt said it’s not surprising that “some parts of the day, of course, the production is down when the wind isn’t blowing that much, and some days overall are like that too.” Most of the time, however, the wind is reliable enough to supply Greensburg’s electrical needs, though that, of course, likewise varies with the time of day.
“Of course, we don’t need as much electricity at night but the wind can still be blowing then so quite a bit of juice goes on to the grid in those circumstances,” Hewitt said.
Whether Greensburg’s energy needs will approach those of its pre-tornado state anytime soon is difficult to answer. When still a town of 1,400 just before the storm Greensburg would typically use around 4.2 megawatts a day.
“You know, we’re around 800 to 850 people in town by count of water meters, but a few of those are contractors,” Hewitt said.
“We’re slowly growing, and the new school opening up will help a little but it’s just hard to predict what your population is going to be a year or two or three years from now. I think it will come back to what it was before the storm. The five-year mark is a good benchmark. Ten is even better, so I’d say it’s a reasonable hope for us to be back at 1,400 in seven more years.”
As others would readily acknowledge, a sudden influx of jobs from a sizeable employer could be the game changer to hasten that goal’s realization. Hewitt added, “Or if the economy really takes an upturn that could change the odds. But really, we’re up against the eight-ball being a small rural community.”
What are the odds of the job market taking off anytime soon through the arrival of a significant employer?
“There are things in the works, but that’s all I can say at this point in time,” Hewitt said. “I know I’ve been saying that for a while, but that’s all I can say right now on the record.
“But between myself, the mayor and Bob (Wetmore, head of economic development) we’re never had as many leads in the works. That’s why it’s important that we move ahead with things like the industrial park and new airport so that those keys are in place when someone is ready to come here with significant job creation on the line.”
