Westar Energy has commissioned the 280MW Western Plains Wind Farm near Spearville in Ford County in the US state of Kansas.
With the commissioning of the wind farm, Westar claims that it can now supply more than half of its annual electricity needs of ts customers from renewable resources.
The wind farm will be owned and operated by the Topeka, Kansas-based energy company and it was developed by Infinity Wind and built by Mortenson Construction. Turbines for the wind farm were supplied by Siemens and the nacelles were manufactured in Hutchinson.
At the wind farm, there are a total of 122 wind turbines installed, each with a production capacity of about 2.3MW with 108m of rotor diameters.
During the construction phase, the wind farm contributed about 200 temporary jobs in the region and has created about 36 permanent jobs.
According to Westar, the wind farm can boost the local economy by generating about $75m in land lease payments and payments local and county governments over the operational life of 20 years.
Westar Energy generation and marketing senior vice president John Bridson said: “By carefully selecting the locations for our wind farms, we’ve cost-effectively grown our commitment to renewable energy.
“In February, on a day with particularly windy conditions, there was one hour where we met 90% of our customers’ electricity needs with renewable energy.”
The wind farm joins Westar Energy’s eight wind farms and a land fill gas generator and the power generated is supplied through long-term power contracts.