News Release
October 20, 2006
Kansas Community Wind Energy Workshop
Cloud County Community College (CCCC) in Concordia, Kansas, will host the Kansas Community Wind Workshop from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 31, 2006. Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and immediately following the workshop is a tour of the CCCC Wind Energy Technology Program.
The workshop, the first of its kind in Kansas, is designed to inform and educate local officials, members of the business and agricultural communities, and the general public about community wind energy.
Community wind energy is locally owned, commercial-scale wind projects that optimize local benefits. Locally owned means that one or more members of the local community have a significant direct financial interest in the project.
With significant wind energy projects becoming a reality in Kansas and other states, interest in community wind energy is increasing among farmers and communities across the country. Locally owned and community based wind projects provide an opportunity to generate both energy and revenue while keeping energy dollars local and protecting the environment from air and water pollution.
Dr. Richard Underbakke, President of CCCC will kick-off the conference, followed by presentations and panel discussions by experts in the field of wind energy, including a legislative panel.
Speakers include Tom Wind, a well-known community wind project consultant from Jefferson, Iowa. Mr. Wind has been involved in several wind energy generation projects and has authored several studies concerning the economic feasibility of wind generation projects.
Lisa Daniels, founder and executive director of Windustry located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, will also be speaking at the workshop. She was recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy, Wind Powering America (WPA) program, in 2004 with a Regional Wind Advocacy Award for regional leadership, creativity, and commitment to wind energy development, and again in 2005 with an Outstanding Partnership Award for participation on the WPA agriculture outreach team, leadership in community wind development, and outreach on the USDA Farm Bill initiative.
Other speakers include Joe King, Coriolis; Jennifer States, JW Prairie Windpower LLC; Joe Harkins, Special Assistant to Governor Sebelius; and Ken Frahm with the Kansas Energy Council.
The Community Wind Tool Kit, developed by the Kansas Energy Office and the Kansas Department of Commerce, will be presented at the conference as a resource tool to assist Kansas communities in understanding how to implement community wind projects.
The workshop will be held in the Cook Theatre at CCCC, 2221 Campus Drive, Concordia, Kansas. A site-map, along with registration, is available at www.cloud.edu or by contacting Marilyn Martin at 1.800.729.5101, ext. 201. The registration fee is $10 per person and includes lunch and a CD of the New Kansas Community Wind Tool Kit.
The workshop will also be broadcast at ITV (interactive television) remote sites at Butler County Community College, Colby Community College, Dodge City Community College, and the Pioneer Communications Center in Ulysses.
The workshop is a collaborative effort sponsored by Cloud County Community College, Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Farmers Union, The Kansas Rural Center, Kansas Energy Office, and the U.S. Department of Energy – Wind Powering America.