Are new coal plants Kansas only source of electricity?
3/2/2008 By DUANE SCHRAG Salina Journal When the state of Kansas said last year that it would not approve a pair of new coal-fired power plants in Holcomb, it set off a chorus of objections and dire predictions. One argument went like this: If the power plants are not built, much-needed transmission lines will not be built in the area, and that will mean that wind farms will not be developed, and the western half of Kansas will continue to suffer from the highest electric rates in the state. Here are some developments since then: n ITC Great Plains has said it plans to build transmission lines to Spearville, with or without the Holcomb plant expansion. n Wind farm development continues. In recent weeks a study was requested for a 600 megawatt wind farm in Finney County. n The Kansas Corporation Commission posted a statewide map of the average retail price of electricity in 2006. Western Kansas — in particular, the western third — enjoys some of the lowest rates in the state. n Westar
