These national companies are choosing Kansas energy to power their operations
More companies across the U.S. are choosing to buy wind energy and are choosing Kansas wind to power their organizations, according to a recent report from American Wind Energy Association. Kansas is the third largest state for wind energy capacity.
Companies are buying more wind energy than ever before, taking up about 10% of the market, as prices have dropped 70% since 2009, according to Celeste Wanner, research and analytics manager for the American Wind Energy Association. Last year, corporate buyers bought almost twice as much wind energy than the past five years combined, according to the report.
Kansas is home to 39 wind farms with a total of 3,160 total turbines, ranking 5th in the nation, according to Riley Scott of Boost Kansas, the Kansas coalition for the American Wind Energy Association. Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday that construction began at Cimarron Bend wind farm in Clark County, Kansas, which will add an addition 74 wind turbines to Kansas’ total.
Kansas is second in the nation for production, as 41% of the state’s electricity is from wind.
“Wind energy is actually one of the lowest cost sources of electric generation in many parts of the country,” said Wanner. “Businesses are increasingly recognizing that and both want to meet sustainability goals and buy clean energy, but also it really makes sense for their bottom line to be signing these wind energy contracts.”
There are over 15 companies currently purchasing from Kansas, with the top being Google, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, Microsoft and T-Mobile, according to Wanner. Target, Home Depot and Kohler also buy a significant portion.
“While technology companies like Google and Microsoft really have dominated the market for a long time and they’re still continuing to buy a lot of energy ... its really spread to so many different industry sectors including entertainment, travel and retail,” Wanner said.
Local companies also are buying Kansas wind energy. Spirit AeroSystems, of Wichita, announced that it would be energizing its operations with Kansas wind power and Textron Aviation, another Wichita company, signed a purchase power agreement earlier this year with a wind farm in Kansas, according to Scott.
While wind energy is cheaper than ever, Scott said there’s also pressure from Wall Street and investors for companies to use renewable energy.
And it’s not just businesses who want wind energy. Two Kansas universities signed purchase agreements to buy state wind energy, Scott said. The University of Kansas will get 100% of its energy from Kansas wind and Kansas State University will get 50%.
Since wind energy doesn’t create any air pollution or use any water, it has become one of the more affordable ways to reduce carbon emissions in energy production.
Wind power doesn’t show any signs of slowing down in the Wheat State, as 2020 is expected to be a record year for wind installations, according to Wanner. Kansas is a great place to produce wind energy because of its unique features, such as the ample wind supply and central location which makes distribution to the coasts easier.
“We also have land,” Scott said. “There was a sense that 10 or 15 years ago that it was sort of an anomaly to see wind turbines, but now they’ve just become part of our landscape.”
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 5:01 AM.
