Renewable energy is an expanding industry in the state of Missouri. It has a robust technical program from its State Technical College of Missouri to Southeast Missouri State University to prepare the workforce for the wind industry. There are 14 wind farms in the state with an installed capacity of 2,435 MW.
How many turbines are in Missouri?
A total of 1,174 wind turbines are installed in the state of Missouri. 921 of these turbines have a capacity between 2 MW and 3.4 MW each.
The highest-rated turbines in Missouri have a capacity of 4.2 MW.
Where is Missouri’s largest wind farm?
The High Prairie Wind Farm is the largest in the state, with an installed capacity of 400 MW, commissioned in 2020. The wind farm is located in Adair and Schuyler Counties and owned by Ameren Missouri
Meanwhile, Rock Creek is the second largest wind farm in Missouri, operating 150 2 MW turbines for a 300 MW installed capacity. Rock Creek generates 1.25 TW of electricity per year.
Is wind energy used in Missouri?
Wind energy is rising in Missouri but not growing as fast as in leading US states. Wind energy only comprises 8.49% of electricity generation in the state.
The largest share of the electricity generation is from coal, which meets three-fourths of the state’s electricity needs.
In comparison, neighbors of Missouri are in the top six wind producers in the USA–Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, and Iowa.
The town of Rock Port is the first US city to rely entirely on wind energy. The city, which is 2.7 square miles with a population of over 1,200, depends on Loess Wind Farm for its electricity needs. Loess Wind Farm has four wind turbines with 1.25 MW capacity each for 5 MW.
Does Missouri have any wind farms?
Missouri currently has 14 operating wind farms. Most of the wind farms operate in the Northwestern side of Missouri, near the country’s wind belt.
What are the wind farms in Missouri?
- Blue Grass Ridge – 56.7 MW
- Tenaska Clear Creek Wind – 242 MW
- Conception – 50.4 MW
- Cow Branch – 50.4 MW
- Farmers City Wind LLC – 146 MW
- High Prairie Wind Farm – 400 MW
- Kings Point Wind Energy – 149.4 MW
- Loess Hills – 5 MW
- Lost Creek Wind Energy – 150 MW
- North Fork Ridge Wind – 149.4 MW
- Osborn Wind Energy – 155.95 MW
- Outlaw Wind Energy LLC – 298.6 MW
- Rock Creek Wind Project – 300 MW
- White Cloud Wind Project – 236.5 MW
How much electricity does Missouri generate from wind turbines?
Wind turbines in Missouri have a total installed capacity of 2.4 GW.
What is the Grain Belt Express?
Grain Belt Express is a 5 GW interstate transmission project connecting four vital grids in the Midwest–Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. The transmission line will cover 800 miles of power network through the three states.
Invenergy, the project owner, is a global company with 191 projects across the wind, solar, storage, and natural gas sources. The company had invested 17 GW in wind projects, most of its 30 GW operational plants.
The Grain Belt Express is an investment in three states to connect the power infrastructure to new energy, which could flow reverse from west to east or vice versa. You can find detailed maps per county here.
In Missouri, the transmission line will go through where most wind farms are located in Northwest Missouri. Furthermore, 50% or 2.5 GW of energy flowing through the Grain Belt Express will go to Missouri. This additional new energy will spur economic development and other projects from Missouri industrial energy consumers.
Missouri grid will connect specifically to Grain Belt with the Tiger Connector, a 40-mile transmission line connecting an existing power infrastructure in Callaway County to the Grain Belt Express.
Future projects can deliver clean energy not just to Missouri but to neighboring states as well.
What are the potential expansions of the Missouri wind industry?
Because the state’s transmission capacity will increase significantly with the Grain Belt Express, the industry’s potential to expand further. Missouri is also the beneficiary of a supply chain of wind turbine and parts manufacturers, making it an ideal zone for more wind farm development.
The state also works with a robust Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI), which generates power from 6 wind farms alongside other sources such as coal, natural gas, and hydropower in Iowa and Oklahoma.
Significantly, Missouri is near the US wind belt or wind corridor, giving it plenty of wind resources to utilize.
As most wind farms are concentrated in the Northwest, Missouri can utilize more potential in the east, where the Grain Belt Express would run to Illinois and Indiana. A potential symbiosis between wind turbines and farms similar to Texas is a possible scenario.
How much wind does Missouri get?
According to Missouri’s Department of Natural Resources, Missouri has average wind speeds of 10 miles per hour or 4.4 meters per second.
The AWS Truepower and NREL measurements also show good numbers where most of the areas in the state have 5.5 to 6.5 meters per second wind speeds.
Otherwise, there are also micro wind turbines in Missouri that can be harnessed at the residential level. The AWS Truepower and NREL measurements show that with a 30-meter tall turbine, half of the state remains viable with 4.5 to 5.0 meters per second wind speeds.
