Wind farm work slowed by wind (not that we mind)

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Local News

April 19, 2019 - 5:01 PM

There?s not a little irony that the pace of construction for the Prairie Queen Wind Farm complex in northern Allen County has slowed in recent days because of too much wind.

To safely erect the 600-foot-plus turbines, wind speeds must be below 14 mph, a threshold the wind has easily exceeded in recent weeks.

So crews can do little more than sit it out and wait, noted Stevee Kennard, project developer with EDP Renewables, which will operate the wind farm.

Electricity generated from the 59 turbines will eventually make its way to KCP&L customers across eastern Kansas and the Kansas City metropolitan areas.

Original forecasts were to have the wind farm up and running by the end of April ? perhaps in March if dominoes fell correctly.

Now, developers are targeting the end of May, Kennard said.

Then, once the wind generators have passed their inspections and are producing up to 200 megawatts of electricity per hour, the next six months will focus on land reclamation.

?It?s our obligation to restore the land to as close to or better than its condition before the wind project started,? Kennard said, which includes replacing topsoil, reseeding native grasses, refurbishing county roads used by the trucks and eventually removing the temporary turning lanes along the aforementioned truck routes.

Crews have begun some reclamation work where turbines have already been erected, although most of that work cannot begin until the turbines are done.

?All of us are getting excited to finish the process, to see the turbines going up,? Kennard said. ?We?ve had people working on this project for several years, and we?re anxious to get it finished. I know with planting season, farmers are ready to be able to get back into their fields as well.?

 

TRUTH BE told, there are several in the area who aren?t eager to see the wind farm work get wrapped up.

It?s been more than a year that up to 200 workers have located to Allen County on wind farm-related activities at any given time. Area hoteliers, restaurant owners and landlords in particular have seen a large surge in business.

For some, such as Tushar Desai, owner of America?s Best Value Inn in Iola, his 59-room motel has been at or near full capacity since October.

?The wind farm really has boosted my business,? Desaid said, noting that the winter months are normally slow, with occupancy rates rarely above 50 percent. 

?It has really helped us along,? he said of the wind farm construction.

Iolan Ryan Sparks, who rents out several homes and apartments in the area, said his places have been booked solid for the past several months.

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