Wind Destroyed and Now Powers Greensburg, Kansas

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Greensburg project is the tow s commitment to renewable energy and, in particular, wind. Far from distrusting the force that destroyed their town, the townspeople have embraced it as the foundational building block of their new community, even donning t-shirts with the phrase coined by Greensburg GreenTown: “Greensburg A Wind-Wind Situation.”

The town is already home to a 50-kW turbine at the new hospital, two smaller turbines at the BTI-Greensburg John Deere dealership, and three small turbines at the 5.4.7 Arts Center. The new school also plans to install a 50-kW turbine.

Construction is also under way for the Greensburg Wind Farm, which will consist of 10 Suzlon 1.25-MW wind turbines with a capacity of 12.5 MW of renewable power enough energy to power 4,000 modest homes. It is planned for completion in the spring of 2010. The town expects to consume about a quarter of the electricity produced by the wind farm for its homes, businesses, and government buildings; the rest will be sold to the Kansas Power Pool, which is purchasing power from the project