Wednesday 24 September 2008

Wind factor: the passion and the promise

Summaries - Australian Financial Review
Thursday 4/9/2008 Page: 68

Pete Ferrell drives a Toyota Tundra, owns the land hosting half the wind turbines included in the Elk River Wind Project, is an active proponent of wind energy who advises potential wind farmers across Kansas and is described by Horizon Wind Energy as 'a great spokesman for wind in Kansas.'

Wind is now a viable energy source rather than an unattainable goal of people who wear Birkenstocks, however the lack of infrastructure to transmit electricity around the state and the country undermines the industry's efficacy, as does the lengthy application and approval process, which can take up to four years, according to ITC Holdings. When Kansas Republicans overturned the state's regulator's refusal to allow Sunflower Electric Power to build two coal-fired plants Governor Kathleen Sebelius vetoed their actions.

Sebelius was then targeted by Sunflower print advertisements associating her with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The US Energy Department-funded National Renewable Energy Laboratory says the of electricity from new wind farms is equivalent to the cost of electricity from new coal-fired power stations, if capital costs are taken into consideration.

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