Cherie and Mark Reimer and their two boys, ages 11 and 12, drove from Newton to Iola Saturday morning to learn about wind farms. The family took part in a tour of the new Prairie Queen Wind Farm organized by the Iola Chamber of Commerce.
?We thought it would be educational, especially for the boys who don?t always enjoy being in a classroom. They learn more from things like this,? Cherie Reimer said.
Because a wind farm is being developed in nearby McPherson, the family frequently sees large trucks with wind turbine equipment drive through their community. Reimer said she learned quite a bit about the planning and construction of the farm from Saturday?s tour.
After the tour, the family planned to have lunch at A&W Restaurant, play disc golf and possibly visit the Russell Stover Chocolates store.
The tour offered a drive through Allen County via ?Fearless Fred,? the Chamber?s trolley, to view some of the 59 wind turbines that comprise the wind farm. Though not sanctioned by EDP, the company that built and owns the wind farm, the tour offered information about the project?s history and construction. Local historian Donna Houser compiled the information and narrated as the trolley drove county roads to see the turbines, the wind farm office building and construction headquarters.
Judy Wilson of Bronson also attended with friends from Fort Scott. They?ve been curious about the project as well, and have made several drives through the area on their own to watch the wind farm?s development over the past year or so.
?We?ve watched it from the ground up, when they were pouring the bases for the turbines,? Wilson said.
She also wanted to learn more about the process.
?What intrigues me is everything involved in getting them here,? like widening, strengthening and rebuilding county roads to accommodate the enormous trucks.
At one point, more than 140 workers were stationed in Allen County. As the project wraps up, the numbers of workers have dwindled. However, several were seen at various points along the tour.
The project included a bit of windmill history, as Houser talked about the old-fashioned windmills found on early Kansas farms that pumped water from the ground to irrigate crops or provide water to livestock.
Modern wind farms, though, use wind turbines rather than windmills. The turbines harvest the wind, generating electrical power as they turn. The blades can turn with as little as 5 mph of wind, and generate a total of 200 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 150,000 homes at full capacity.
Planning for the Allen County farm began more than four years ago and included surveys of such things as meteorological studies and engineering studies for soil compaction, groundwater levels, utility easements, topography, wildlife and locations of houses and other structures. Access to large-scale electric transmission lines was critical.
