Gray County Wind Farm near Montezuma, Kansas

Montezuma, Kansas

Montezuma is a city in Gray County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 966.-Geography:Montezuma is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 966...

 is the largest wind farm

Wind farm

A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...

 in Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

 and the largest in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 not mandated by a state regulatory commission. The site consists of 170 Vestas

Vestas

Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...

 V-47 wind turbine

Wind turbine

A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...

s with a total nameplate capacity

Nameplate capacity

Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity or maximum effect, refers to the intended technical full–load sustained output of a facility such as a power plant, a chemical plant, fuel plant, metal refinery, mine, and many others.For dispatchable power,...

 of 112 MW. Each turbine tower is 217 feet high, with blades 77 feet long, and a generating capacity of 660 kW

Watt

The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...

. Owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources

NextEra Energy Resources

NextEra Energy Resources is an wholesale electricity supplier based in Juno Beach, Florida. It is a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. , a Fortune 200 company. Prior to 2009, NextEra Energy Resources was known as FPL Energy....

, Gray County Wind Farm became fully operational in November 2001. Its construction cost an estimated $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

100 million.

Overview

The average wind speed at the site is approximately 20 mph. The area is primarily used for farmland.

Gray County Wind Farm near Montezuma, Kansas is the largest wind farm in Kansas and the largest in the United States not mandated by a state regulatory commission. The site consists of 170 Vestas V-47 wind turbines with a total nameplate capacity of 112.2 MW. Each turbine tower is 217 feet high, with blades 77 feet long, and a generating capacity of 660 kW. Owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources, Gray County Wind Farm became fully operational in December 2001. Its construction cost an estimated $100 million.[1]

The average wind speed at the site is approximately 20 mph. The area is primarily used for farmland.