TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback touted the impact the wind energy industry has on the Kansas economy Wednesday. Wind energy development has created thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent operation and maintenance jobs in Kansas, he said. The state now boasts 2,000 jobs in wind component manufacturing, he said. A new report from the American Wind Energy Aassociation shows Kansas leads the nation in the number of wind turbines under construction. Currently, the wind turbine installations in the state generate nearly 1,100 megawatts of wind from 10 wind farms. Brownback said by the end of this year, more than 660 new turbines will be installed, doubling the number of wind turbines in the state.
Thursday, Feb. 16, 4 p.m.
