WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – An agreement between Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and the wind energy industry more than doubles the Flint Hills area where new wind farms are prohibited.

Most of the nation’s tallgrass prairie is in the Flint Hills of eastern Kansas. The governor says extreme care must be used to protect the environmentally sensitive area.

The Wichita Eagle reports the expanded protected area encompasses 10,895 square miles, more than twice the size of the previous 4,673 square-mile zone.

Brownback says existing wind farms and those that have an agreement to operate in the protected area will be allowed to fulfill their contracts and have an opportunity to renew them.

Seven wind energy facilities were operating in the state as of January and several others are in the process of being developed.
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Information from: The Wichita Eagle, https://www.kansas.com

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)