On my last few trips between our Missouri and Colorado homes, I have watched a large wind farm sprout from a broad ridge in central Kansas, just north of I-70. Located along the Ellsworth-Lincoln County line, about 25 miles west of Salina, the first phase of the Smoky Hills Wind Farm project is nearing completion. This phase will cover 12,000 acres and include 56 three-blade turbins, producing more than 100 megawatts of energy; that will provide enough electricity for 30,000 homes and offset 300,000 tons of CO2 production.
Phase two, to be completed by November, will cover another 12,000 acres and produce an additional 149 megawatts of energy, offsetting 450,000 tons of carbon dioxide. As one might expect, the project has been controversial, the benefits of clean energy production weighed against the visual pollution on the prairie landscape (the gleaming white turbins are 260 feet tall). Siding with the energy companies, the Sierra Club has supported the wind farm's development, noting that it covers "disturbed landscape" and has passed environmental impact studies.
For those of us who do not live in the area or have to look at giant turbins out our back window, it is easy to focus on the significant environmental benefits of such energy projects. But almost all efforts to minimize our impact on Earth's ecosystems come with a price and action is far more difficult than words. I applaud the residents of Kansas for tapping their abundant wind resource and reducing their dependence on fossil fuels.
