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From the Kansas City Star

UtiliCorp to buy power produced at Kansas wind farm

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UtiliCorp United Inc. said it planned to purchase the output of a Kansas wind farm, which will generate enough electricity to power 27,500 homes when completed later this year.

Most of the wind power will be used by UtiliCorp customers in Missouri and Kansas. There will be no customer surcharges for using the wind-generated electricity. In fact, UtiliCorp said, wind power has become more competitive with other fuels -- especially natural gas.

"Wind power technology has improved substantially," said James Miller, a senior vice president with UtiliCorp. "In addition, the increased cost of natural gas...has made wind generation an economical component of our energy generation mix."

The wind farm is being built by FPL Energy LLC, which is the nation's largest producer of wind power. The company is a subsidiary of FPL Group Inc. FPL Group, which has revenues of $7 billion, also owns Florida Power & Light Co.

The Kansas wind farm will produce 110 megawatts of electricity from about 165 turbines. It is being built near Montezuma, in southwest Kansas. The Department of Energy ranks Kansas as the state with the third-best potential for wind energy. That caught FPL's eye.

"We go where the wind is," said Mary Lou Kromer, vice president of communications for FPL Group.

The financial specifics of the deal with UtiliCorp were not disclosed. UtiliCorp said about 73 percent of the electricity generated by the wind farm will go to WestPlains Energy, which has 65,000 customers in Kansas, and Missouri Public Service, which has 205,000 electric customers in western Missouri.

Wind power will amount to about 4 percent of the current generating capacity of those utilities. The balance of the wind power not used by WestPlains and Missouri Public Service will be sold on the wholesale market.

Wind power traditionally has been uneconomical because of the cost of the equipment. A natural gas-powered plant, for instance, costs about $42 per megawatt hour while wind power costs as much as $60 per megawatt hour, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Equipment accounts for most of the expense. A megawatt is 1,000 kilowatts.

But natural gas costs have been volatile during the past year. And wind power is eligible for federal tax credits, currently about $15 per megawatt hour.

There is a limit to how much wind power an electric utility can use. Since the wind is fickle, utilities will continue to rely on coal, oil and gas to ensure they can meet demand, said George Minter, a UtiliCorp spokesman.


To reach Steve Everly, call (816) 234-4455 or send e-mail to severly@kcstar.com.

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