The gusty landscape of Northwestern Sumner County won't be changing much, despite BP Wind Energy's plan to build the 419 megawatt Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm.
"We're actually not going to get part of the wind farm as far as the turbines. But we will have the transmission lines coming through,” Janis Hellard said.
She is the director of the county's Economic Development Commission. Hellard says the transmission lines will look like these power lines.
"They will be enlarging one of our substations just outside of Conway Springs,” Hellard said.
The 66-thousand acre wind farm will stretch through Barber, Harper, Kingman, and Sumner counties. That’s just 43 miles southwest of Wichita.
"That's where the 345/KV line comes through Sumner County. And, that's where they needed to connect on. So, we just kind of fell into that,” Hellard said.
Governor Sam Brownback bragged about the 800-million-dollar project's impact.
“Development of wind energy continues to be an excellent opportunity for our rural communities to create jobs and add to their local economies,” Governor Brownback said.
This project will bring some construction jobs. But no permanent jobs to Sumner County. However, the economic development commission hopes this work will pay-off with bigger opportunities in the future.
"We hope that will bring other people looking at the western part of our county,” Hellard said.
Critics of wind energy claim its not productive, wind farms destroy the landscape, and hurt animals. But Hellard says the county would welcome the business opportunity.
"We have not heard any negative things in any of the public meetings we have held. So, it has been very positive,” Hellard said.
The wind farm should be producing energy by the end of next year.
The governor says the project will create 500 jobs during construction. It’s expected to generate more than a million dollars to communities in Barber, Harper, Kingman, and Sumner counties each year.
