Wind power in Kansas

In the U.S. state of Kansas, wind power is the largest source of electricity, generating over 47% of the state's electricity in 2022. Kansas has a high potential capacity for wind power, second behind Texas. The most recent estimates (2012) are that Kansas has a potential for 952 GW of wind power capacity, yet had only about 5.6 GW installed by the end of 2018. Kansas could generate 3,102 TW·h of electricity each year, which represents over 75% of all the electricity generated in the United States in 2011.Net Generation by Energy Source This electricity could be worth $290 billion per year (at 9.35 cents per kW·hAverage Retail Cost of Electricity in the United States).

Growth

Year Capacity (MW)WINDExchange: U.S. Installed and Potential Wind Capacity and Generation Kansas US 1999 1.5 2,472 2000 1.5 2,539 2001 113.7 4,232 2002 113.7 4,687 2003 113.7 6,350 2004 113.7 6,723 2005 263.7 9,147 2006 364.2 11,575 2007 364.2 16,907 2008 921 25,410 2009 1,021 34,863 2010 1,074 40,267 2011 1,274 46,916 2012 2,713 60,005 2013 2,967 61,107 2014 2,967 65,880 2015 3,766 74,471 2016 4,451 82,171 2017 5,110 89,078 2018 5,653 96,487 2019 6,128 105,583 2020 7,016 122,478 2021 8,245 135,843 Kansas led the nation in the early 2000s in all measured categories of scaling up renewable electricity generation, with an overall growth in generation of 1,678.5% from 2001 to 2007. This rapid overall growth in renewable energy generation represents an equally large increase of 1,487.9%, as a percent of total state electricity generation. Massive increases in generation are largely the product of wind energy development across the state. In 2001, Kansas had 114 Megawatts (MW) of wind energy generation. By the end of 2011, Kansas had installed 1,224 MW of generation. Wind energy generation in Kansas grew 2,793.5% from 2001 to 2007. This amounts to an average growth of slightly over 75% per year.

Potential Being centrally located in the midwest, Kansas is squarely placed in the center of America’s wind tunnel, a corridor stretching from North Dakota south into the Texas panhandle, where the vast majority of the nation’s best on-shore wind resources are located. Kansas has the 2nd highest wind potential in the U.S. with an estimated over 952,000 MW possible capacity, capable of generating over 3,101,576 GWh. Texas has the largest wind potential.

With a projected total state peak load of 10,000 MW, Kansas could become a major wind energy exporting state to the south and the east U.S., where renewable generation opportunities are much more constrained.

The Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) projects that if Kansas were to develop 7,158 MW of new wind by 2030 the economic impact for Kansas would total over $7.8 billion in benefit to local economies, landowners, and job creation, creating over 26,000 new jobs.

In 2007, Kansas Governor Sebelius noted in her State of the State address that “our goal is to produce 10 percent of our state’s electricity from wind power by 2010, and 20 percent by 2020.”

Wind power accounted for 19.4% of the electricity generated in Kansas during 2013. By 2016 it accounted for 29.6%. In 2018 it reached 36%, a higher percentage than any other U.S. state. In 2019 it comprised 41.45%, and in 2022, 47.13%.Wind Energy in Kansas

Economic benefits Forecasts indicate that for every 1,000 MW of wind developed in Kansas, cumulative economic benefits will be $1.08 billion, with annual CO2 reduction estimated at 3.2 million tons, and annual water savings at 1,816 million gallons. These projected benefits could be greatly increased by developing more localized manufacturing, installation, supply and maintenance industry within the State. In the 6 years leading up to 2008, Kansas lost 10,944 manufacturing jobs totaling 6% of the manufacturing workforce. It is estimated that the potential manufacturing benefit for Kansas lies mostly in the southeastern part of the state. Up to 2008, southeastern Kansas experienced the majority of high unemployment rates in the state (i.e., >6%).

Environmental impact

Education Cloud County Community College has a wind energy technology program in Concordia. CCCC is the only college in the state of Kansas with an AWEA-certified wind energy program and only one of seven in the entire United States. They are located just two miles north of the Meridian Way wind farm.

Wind generation

Kansas wind generation (GWh, million kWh) Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2001 40 40 2002 466 46 47 47 47 46 43 30 33 34 30 32 31 2003 366 29 23 40 40 31 23 31 27 30 26 29 37 2004 358 23 31 37 34 43 26 23 23 34 28 26 30 2005 425 18 19 33 36 30 35 32 17 36 28 36 105 2006 992 88 67 94 97 66 69 63 54 79 105 102 108 2007 1,152 97 93 113 105 98 63 63 91 101 135 103 90 2008 1,760 137 121 150 183 167 124 133 93 124 166 164 198 2009 2,862 220 218 275 270 237 193 169 224 159 305 278 314 2010 3,406 235 190 367 362 284 283 246 258 288 294 345 254 2011 3,720 279 320 328 357 356 358 234 205 218 355 386 324 2012 5,195 416 327 388 358 425 466 355 327 321 461 665 686 2013 9,432 727 687 789 886 869 817 634 597 864 993 845 724 2014 10,844 1,039 765 1,119 1,140 795 919 769 733 845 815 1,075 830 2015 10,999 922 824 828 997 917 812 737 697 989 879 1,152 1,2452016 14,112 1,061 1,303 1,423 1,300 1,103 984 1,076 884 1,138 1,396 1,222 1,2222017 18,598 1,407 1,426 1,889 1,953 1,659 1,509 1,194 921 1,552 1,797 1,580 1,711 2018 18,907 1,761 1,549 1,943 1,822 1,450 1,872 914 1,372 1,560 1,402 1,467 1,7952019 21,126 1,597 1,416 1,870 1,952 1,566 1,473 1,652 1,339 2,205 2,087 2,007 1,962 2020 23,964 1,876 1,921 1,959 2,057 1,887 2,574 1,592 1,710 1,817 2,050 2,412 2,109 2021 25,622 2,145 1,417 2,665 2,492 2,323 1,752 1,534 2,133 2,165 2,135 2,203 2,658 2022 29,477 2,605 2,627 3,022 3,019 2,778 2,346 1,991 1,766 2,128 1,995 2,775 2,425 2023 7,642 2,355 2,475 2,812

Source:

+Kansas wind generation in 2011+Kansas wind generation in 2017+Kansas wind generation in 2013

Wind power in Kansas

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