Better yet.. Kansas Wind Power allies with California tower builder
Lawrence-based Kansas Wind Power has formed a joint venture with Composite Technology Corp. of Irvine, Calif., to develop wind farms in Kansas.
The venture's initial $150 million project calls for as many as 68 turbines that would generate a total of 102 megawatts of electricity on an undisclosed site. The site ultimately could hold enough turbines to produce 300 megawatts, Composite Technology said in a written statement Monday.
Financing and construction are contingent on Kansas Wind Power reaching power-purchase agreements with end users described as "several selected, socially responsible municipalities, utilities and electric cooperatives, as well as communications centers and teaching facilities in Kansas."
Composite Technology would supply "proprietary wind turbine support and erection systems" and as much as 175 miles of "aluminum conductor composite core" cable. Kansas Wind Power would obtain wind turbines from other suppliers.
Kansas Wind Power CEO Troy Helming could not be reached for comment Monday because he was out scouting for new wind sites, his staff said.
"After Sept. 11, I announced that I would spend the rest of my life working to reduce this country's dependence on foreign oil," Helming said in the statement, describing Kansas as the "Saudi Arabia of wind power."
