HEARTLAND SNAPSHOT, APRIL 2010

KANSAS CITY SPOTLIGHT: A GUST OF NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Advanced energy is the name of the game in Kansas City these days. Despite claims from some companies of sluggish customer demand, the Kansas City region is seeing significant interest from the international wind energy sector. Some of this attention is due to the fact that Kansas City is located at the most central point of North America’s Great Plains Wind Corridor, which stretches from the Canadian border south into Texas. Companies that locate in the Kansas City region are instantly in the largest market closest to the greatest activity in the industry. This has drawn particular interest from wind energy companies looking for a base for North American headquarters. The Kansas City region’s central United States location also provides easy access to field operations with one-stop air connections to Europe and Asia.

Conservative estimates claim that up to 20 percent of the nation’s future electric supply will be wind generated. Kansas City Power & Light and Westar Energy, regional utilities based in the metro Kansas City, have made significant investments in large-scale wind facilities and remain committed to increasing electric generating capacity through sustainable resources.

The Kansas City region offers additional advantages for companies in the wind energy industry:

• Workforce — access to skilled craftsman, apprenticeship programs and engineering talent. In fact, the engineering and design services sector is a $2.3 billion dollar industry in the Kansas City region, 73 percent above the national average.

• Access to rail — Kansas City is the largest rail center in the United States by tonnage and sits at the heart of a rail corridor spanning coast to coast across the country and extending from Canada to Mexico.

• Proximity to large wind farms in Northwest Missouri and Western Kansas.

• Central location creates operational cost efficiencies.

• Low-cost, reliable and abundant electric power.

• Proximity to future high voltage transmission lines.

• Renewable Energy Standards: Both states within the Kansas City region have passed renewable energy standards — Kansas requires that by 2020 20 percent of power must be generated by investor-owned utilities through sustainable sources. Missouri has passed an renewable energy standard of 15 percent by 2021.

Tim Cowden is senior vice president of the Kansas City Area Development Council, the site location and economic development representative for the bi-state 18-county Kansas City Region.

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