Apex Clean Energy today announced a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Evergy, Inc. for 155.1 MW of wind power from Apex’s Jayhawk Wind project in Crawford and Bourbon Counties, Kansas. Evergy shared the news of the PPA in a press release along with an announcement that it will reduce carbon output by 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050.
With this milestone for Jayhawk Wind, Kansas is one step closer toward its goal of sourcing 20% of power used in the state from alternative energy sources.
Simply stated, a PPA is a long-term agreement to buy the electricity generated by a project. PPAs benefit power purchasers like utilities and the communities in which they are located because:
- It establishes the price of the power at the time of the agreement, therefore providing a hedge for the power buyer against future energy price fluctuations.
- It provides stability for the Jayhawk Wind project and its host communities by ensuring the project has a long-term customer for the power the project generates.
Jayhawk Wind will connect into the existing Evergy 161 kV Marmaton to Litchfield transmission line that runs through the project area.
The power generated by Jayhawk Wind will in part supply commercial and industrial customers through Evergy’s green tariff program, Renewables Direct.
According to the Kansas Department of Commerce, the wind energy industry has created new opportunities across the state and particularly in rural communities by already:
- Creating 12,000 Kansan jobs;
- Bringing in $12 billion in capital investment; and
- Generating $28 million in state and local tax payments.
While it’s good to know that most of the electricity generated by the Jayhawk Wind project is being bought by a regional power company, it is misleading to state that it will help Kansas achieve it’s goal of sourcing 20% of it’s power from renewables. Thanks in large part to the generous tax abatements KS has given wind developers, according to the KCC as of 2018 Kansas gets 36.58% of it’s power from wind. That makes Kansas #1 in the nation for % of electricity generated by wind.
I believe that the difference between Kansas sourcing 20% of the power it consumes vs the percentage of power that comes from wind (and other renewables) has to do with the fact that Kansas exports a significant portion of the power that is generated here. That would explain the apparent contradiction between 38% of the power generated in the state coming from wind and a smaller number for percentage of power being consumed in the state.