Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) announced it has acquired development rights for a new wind farm in Kansas. Westar has reached an agreement with Infinity Wind Power to develop the Ironwood site near Spearville for up to 500 megawatts (MW) of capacity. The initial phase is expected to be approximately 200 MW and will be completed by late 2011 or 2012, depending on the pace of new transmission construction in western Kansas.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In 2009, issued a request for proposals for up to an additional 500 MW of renewable energy resources. The company reviewed 35 proposals. After much research, and given changing legislative and economic conditions, Westar opted to obtain rights from Infinity Wind to develop the Ironwood site to position itself to add additional renewable generation quickly once market conditions and transmission availability become more favorable for its customers.
Bill Moore, Westar president and CEO, said: "Our deal with Infinity allows us flexibility to time the ultimate construction of the wind farm for the advantage of our customers and investors."
The development agreement with Infinity is structured as an asset purchase and includes contracts with landowners currently covering 18,603 acres as well as other development-related assets. As part of the agreement, Infinity will provide future development services to further prepare the site for construction of the wind farm.
A new Kansas mandate requires electric utilities to have renewable capacity equal to 10% of the utilities peak summer demand, and 20% by 2020. For Westar this means growing its nearly 300 MW renewable generation portfolio by 160 MW to 200 MW by the end of 2011 and more than 600 MW of new renewable sources by 2020.
Westar currently owns or purchases power from three wind farms in Kansas. Westar owns Central Plains Wind farm, a 99 MW facility near Leoti, Kan. The company has a 100 MW share of the Flat Ridge Wind Farm, near Nashville, Kan. Westar purchases 96 MW of wind power from the Meridian Way Wind Farm near Concordia, Kan. Those wind farms went online in 2008 and 2009.
Westar Energy, Inc. (www.WestarEnergy.com) is the largest electric utility in Kansas, providing electric service to about 684,000 customers in the state. Westar Energy has about 7,100 megawatts of electric generation capacity and operates and coordinates more than 35,000 miles of electric distribution and transmission lines.
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