by Jbs102709 j3 — October 28, 2009—Greensburg, Kansas, recently received a boost from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its efforts to rebuild almost the entire town as a green community following a devastating tornado in May 2007. According to news from the federal Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), the USDA announced a $17.4 million loan for a 12.5-megawatt wind power project that will provide renewable power for the city.
The $23.3 million Greensburg Wind Farm is expected to help the city meet its goal of drawing on 100% renewable energy. The USDA loan will go to a subsidiary of John Deere Renewables, with the remaining $5.8 million from an equity investment by Deere & Company.
Kansas Power Pool, the municipal energy agency to which the city belongs, will buy the electricity generated by the Greensburg Wind Farm, supplying its wind power to Greensburg and surrounding communities. In addition, NativeEnergy, Inc. will sell Renewable Energy Credits for about two-thirds of the wind farm’s energy output over the next 20 years. The 10-turbine Greensburg Wind Farm is expected to start producing power in 2010.
The new wind farm is the latest phase in the community’s efforts to rebuild in a sustainable way. Shortly after the tornado destroyed 95 percent of the city’s houses, city officials called the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for assistance. DOE opened a Greensburg office to advise residents and commercial users on sustainable rebuilding, and committed a team of experts to conduct detailed studies, develop renewable energy and efficiency business strategies, and assemble various financing and ownership options to produce or procure renewable energy technologies.
For more information see the DOE Web page on the Greensburg project.
