Wind power is has many applications - from small and community scales, to utility and industrial applications. 

• What wind is and how it works 

• Benefits of wind

Renewable Economy. Wind is an unlimited supply of energy. It also has no greenhouse gas emissions, so it helps fight climate change. Wind turbine operation also produces no air pollution or hazardous waste.

Wind power adds to our fuel diversity, helps strengthen our energy security, and weans us off dependence on high-carbon fossil fuels.

Economic Development. The wind industry is currently undergoing a boom. Kansas is ranked number three for wind potential in the country. Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, and Nebraska are also in the top ten.

Right now, Kansas is ranked 12th in terms of actual wind production. 

• Experts estimate that by 2030 wind could meet up to 20% of the total U.S. energy demand. President Bush has endorsed this goal.
• If Kansas were to attempt to meet its share of this goal, by 2030 it would supply 7,158 megawatts (MW). Right now, it has over 400 MW, and by the end of 2008 that number could rise close to 1,000 MW.
  

Jobs and Income Streams. Wind development provides construction and operations jobs, as well as payments to landowners. It also supports local economic activities, such as agriculture, and doesn’t compete for critical resources like water.

Community Compatible. Small wind and community wind are more decentralized ways to produce electricity. Rather than depend on large plants far away, wind is a local resource that keeps our energy dollars closer to home.

Fast to Install. Once approved, wind farms can go up quickly, especially compared to fossil fuel generators.

• Challenges for wind
  

  Transmission Lines. Before rural communities can capitalize on their wind resources they need more energy infrastructure, such as transmission lines. Many rural areas have very little access to the production and generation side of the grid.
  
  Transmission lines are also expensive to build. Before making such an investment, grid planners and transmission developers need to know what communities welcome wind development.
  
  Right now, Kansas is experiencing a comparative boom in transmission development - nearly $1 billion of transmission line investment is going on in the state.
  
  Cost and Availability of Turbines. Because there is such a wind boom going on, equipment is expensive and hard to find, especially for community wind projects.
  
  Variability (intermittency). Because the wind doesn’t blow all the time, wind farms can’t always produce electricity – this means wind power is considered intermittent. Intermittent is the opposite of dispatchable, which describes a power source that can generate energy on demand. Dispatchable energy (like coal, gas, or geothermal) is required to make up the base load of the grid.
  
  Variability is not considered to be much of a problem when wind power makes up 20-25% of a grid, which represents low to moderate penetration. New wind power installations do not need to be backed up with equal amounts of new dispatchable power from fossil fuels.
  
  The Department of Energy (DOE), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and utilities are collaborating on studies of best practices for wind integration into the grid, including possible rates of higher integration.
  
  Things to consider. Wind energy has far fewer environmental, human health, and wildlife impacts than energy derived from fossil fuels. As wind is a relatively young technology on its recent larger scale, its environmental effects will continue to be studied.
  
  Many communities debate whether they want wind power. Reasons range from the unknown long-term impacts of transmission lines on human health or aesthetics, to arguments that certain landscapes - such as unfragmented grasslands - are not right for wind turbines.