Several miles southwest of Greensburg the sundry parts of a wind farm are being stockpiled, ready for assembly once the i’s and t’s of a fairly complicated arrangement are respectively dotted and crossed.
It is the wind farm the City had once considered putting up of its own accord—meant to supply its electrical needs via the turning blades of several turbines—now the project of John Deere Renewable Energy (JDRE), a recently added subsidiary of Deer & Company that currently boasts a “portfolio of several wind projects across the U.S. capable of generating 600 megawatts of electricity,” enough to power 40,000 homes. Greensburg’s typical electrical consumption is around 3.5 megawatts.
This project near Greensburg will be a small part of that endeavor, capable of generating 12.5 megawatts. The electricity generated will be sold to Kansas Power Pool (KPP), of which Greensburg recently became a member. Because of the City’s help in joining the forces of KPP and JDRE, the outside investor that completed the financial package for the undertaking—Native Energy—will make sure Greensburg enjoys an enhancement of its image as a “green” community by giving the community so-called “green credits”.
As City Administrator Steve Hewitt puts its, green credits—which can be traded as any commodity—are essentially a certification, or proof that a community or entity is operating by virtue of power generated through such renewable sources as wind, hydroelectric or solar.
“This way we can tell the world we’re operating as a renewable energy town,” Hewitt said. “It gives us credibility when we claim to be green, because now the proof’s in the pudding, so to speak.”
Saying funding was just one of several obstacles making the construction of the City’s own small wind farm formidable, Hewitt notes receiving the credits via the generosity of Native Energy “gives us the credibility we want without the financial risk.” The credits are more or less a guarantee that all the electricity used by Greensburg has been generated through renewable sources, typically from the wind farm just outside city limits. KPP, however, has other renewable sources from which it can draw on those days the wind is not blowing in south central Kansas.
As for when work on erecting the farm might get underway, Hewitt said he expects a groundbreaking date to be announced “within the next week or two,” and for work to commence soon enough for the project to be completed around early 2010.
“I know this is kind of complicated in terms of how this all came to be, but the bottom line is this town will get the credits to let the world know that every bit of electricity we use comes from a renewable source,” Hewitt said. “And that’s a big deal for our image.”
Greensburg, KS —
