Print edition: 
Federal approval last week of a cost-sharing plan for an electricity transmission line in Kansas was a key step in profiting from our state's strong winds. Now what's needed is for Congress to boost the market for wind energy by approving federal renewable energy standards.
Though Kansas recently was ranked second only to Texas in its wind-energy potential, it has been limited in its ability to site wind turbines and move electricity to market because of a lack of transmission lines. But last week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a plan to charge ratepayers in eight states the cost of constructing a 180-mile transmission line from Spearville in western Kansas to Wichita, with a connection to Oklahoma.
"It's very good news," Jim Ludwig, executive vice president at Westar Energy, told The Eagle editorial board — though the Southwest Power Pool, the regional organization that manages power transmission, still needs to make sure this will be a high-capacity transmission line.
The new line, which likely won't be operational until at least 2013, should be a boon to wind-farm development. But for Kansas to really benefit economically from its wind, it needs a strong export market. And that's where Congress needs to step up.
The Senate is again considering cap-and-trade legislation aimed at curbing the use of fossil fuels and encouraging greater reliance on alternative energy sources, such as wind. But because of concerns about the possible high cost of capping greenhouse-gas emissions, the measure appears unlikely to pass.
Rather than let the entire measure die, Congress should approve a provision requiring a certain percentage of a state's energy to come from renewable sources. Kansas and 28 other states already have their own renewable energy standards, but a national RES could create demand for Kansas wind power in states that don't have strong winds or other alternative energy sources.
A national RES "would really catapult renewable energy to the next level," Gov. Mark Parkinson has said. It also has the backing of Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., has a stand-alone proposal requiring 15 percent renewable energy by 2021. A better option would be the RES that the House approved in its cap-and-trade bill, requiring 20 percent renewable power by 2020.
It's also important that the financial penalty for failing to meet the standard is strong. Otherwise, it might be cheaper for some states to pay the fine than to purchase wind power from Kansas.
Kansas could generate 3.6 million gigawatt-hours of the nation's future electricity from wind, according to a report released earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Energy. But Kansas won't meet that vast export potential unless Congress does its part and passes a meaningful RES standard.
The answer to our growing energy needs — or at least a portion of it — really is blowing in the wind.
_ For the editorial board, Phillip Brownlee
