Five wind farm towers up in Spearville
"It's exciting for us too," said Phil Duncan, project director for Kansas City Power & Light, when informed of the growing excitement of Spearville residents as each turbine is completed.
One turbine Ð including its three rotors or blades Ð was finished by Sunday evening, and by Monday at sunset, four more towers and their blades had been erected all in a row with the first turbine.
"When they top them off, it doesn't take very long to put them together," Duncan said of the towers, which are composed of two posts Ñ one on top of the other Ñ until they are "topped off" by several pieces of equipment.
"The third piece is the top of the tower, then comes the nacelle, and then the rotors," Duncan explained. "They turn the blades until they're vertical, and it takes something like 12 to 15 minutes to do the entire job."
Pushed by the wind, the mammoth propellers of the Spearville Wind Energy Facility Ð the wind farm's official name Ñ twirled slowly Wednesday, despite the fact that they are not in service yet.
"They have to work inside to make all the connections before the turbines are operational," Duncan said. "Hopefully, we will have units going and generating next week."
Several trucks transporting gigantic parts of the turbines park for the night in the town of Kinsley east of Spearville.
"I believe the transport of these oversized loads cannot be done at night," Duncan said. "So since they can't drive at night, the drivers stay in Kinsley where they won't have to sleep in their cabs."
Two large cranes and a smaller rotor crane are in operation at the wind farm site north of Spearville and Highway 54. The turbine nearest to Spearville is located less than half a mile from the highway.
The second row of towers will include seven turbines; the third row will have eight. The number will vary, depending on the location, Duncan said.
"I think we are on schedule," he ventured optimistically. "The weather has only affected the work on one Tuesday when we had high winds. The workers make up any lost time on the weekends. Crews are ready and waiting to come into work at any time."
The newly-completed towers are clearly visible from the town of Wright 10 miles away, but they disappear from view in Dodge City.
"We still hope to be finished by October," Duncan added. "We are planning a dedication ceremony for the entire facility after all the turbines are installed and in service."
A total of 67 General Electric turbines, each producing 1.5 megawatts, will be installed by October. The entire project will generate 100.5 megawats.
Sprint Nextel will purchase the Spearville wind-generated electricity for its Overland Park corporate campus near Kansas City. Company officials estimate the wind power will save more than 175 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere annually.
