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Reno County 2020 Growth Coalition
111 N.Walnut, Suite C - P.O. Box 1372
Hutchinson, Kansas 67504-1372
620 664-8656
WIND POTENTIAL FOR RENO COUNTY The Reno County Commission in partnership with the Reno County 2020 Growth Coalition Mayor's Forum, The Land Institute and Hutchinson Community College will host a Reno County Community Wind Workshop on Tuesday, August 21 st from 1-5 pm at HCC's Stringer Fine Arts Center. During the Growth Coalition's July Mayor's Forum Nancy Jackson from the Land Institute's Climate & Energy Project presented a program about Reno County 's wind potential to Mayors and community members from Buhler, Haven, Pretty Prairie, Sylvia, South Hutchinson, Plevna and Hutchinson . Many participants were excited to learn more multi-purpose community wind farms. According to Mrs. Jackson, "There are many viable sites in this county for community wind, utility scale wind and wind for schools." This FREE workshop will feature keynote speaker, Larry Flowers from the National Renewable Energy Lab. Flowers is a team leader at the DOE National Wind Technology Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, and serves as the national technical director of the Wind Powering America program. In his 25 years at NREL, he has been responsible for programs in the areas of solar thermal, buildings, utility, industrial, and wind energy. He has spent the past 15 years working in wind technology with an emphasis on utility systems, village power, and international programs. Flowers was assigned as national initiative lead for Wind Powering America in October 1999. He has a Bachelors of Science degree in engineering and a Master of Arts in business administration and is a registered professional engineer. The Community Wind workshop is open to all Reno County residents who are interested in exploring the future of wind energy in Reno County . Participants may register at www.renocountygrowth.com/wind or by calling the Growth Coalition at 664-8656. The workshop will begin with a panel of experts representing a wide range of topics including Jim Ploger from the Kansas Energy Office and Eric Johnson from Kansas Wildlife and Parks. Representatives are also expected from Westar Energy , Ark Valley Electric, Department of Commerce, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, The Nature Conservancy and the American Wind Energy Association.Following the opening session participants will be invited to choose two break-out sessions to discuss the Economics of Wind with Larry Flowers; Community Wind Projects; Utility Scale Wind projects with the American Wind Association and the Wind for Schools program with Nancy Jackson from The Land Institute's Climate & Energy Project. A question/answer session will reconvene at 4 pm. The expert panel will field questions formulated by participants during the break-out sessions. This workshop is an opportunity for interested residents to learn more about the potential for wind energy in Reno County .According to the Wind Power Outlook 2007 , "Wind power is striding into national public view as the elegant icon of energy security and action to curb global warming, and for good reason. Clean, cost-effective, inexhaustible, and readily available, wind power is an essential element of the solution to both climate change and America 's increasing demand for electricity." For more information please contact Dorothy Barnett, Reno County 2020 Growth Coalition Coordinator at 664-8656 or by email dorothy@renocountygrowth.com . More Information Resources |