TOPEKA – McPherson Board of Public Utilities expanded its commitment Wednesday to purchase Kansas wind energy from Westar Energy.

“McPherson exemplifies how Kansas communities can leverage the state’s excellent wind resources to attract economic development,” said John Bridson, Westar Energy, vice president, generation services.

In 2017 alone, McPherson reported four expansion projects and one new business attraction success. The community of approximately 14,000 people boasts over 50 industrial businesses and over 8,500 industrial jobs. These electric intensive industrial businesses have contributed to McPherson’s peak energy consumption of 158 MW in 2018.

In 2016, McPherson was among five utilities to purchase wind energy from Kingman Wind Energy Center through contracts with Westar Energy. The agreements include full-service energy management. McPherson purchases 37 MW of wind energy from the Kingman wind farm.

“The utility has had two years to watch how wind performed; given the positive experience we have had, carbon free emission characteristic of wind, and favorable price of wind energy, we made the decision to add more to our supply. Customers will now get to claim that over 30percent of their energy comes from clean Kansas wind all without compromising our competitive and stable rate structure,” stated BPU General Manager, Tim Maier.

Energy from Soldier Creek Wind Energy Center is available by contract to communities or through Westar Energy’s recently approved Renewables Direct tariff that enables businesses to commit to long-term purchases of Kansas wind energy at competitive prices.

In August, a Department of Energy report ranked Kansas No. 2 in the nation for the percentage of electricity generated from wind in 2017.

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