Cowley commissioners: Let wind farms spin in flint hills

The Cowley County Commission has written a letter to Gov. Laura Kelly asking her to reverse the moratorium on wind farms in the Flint Hills imposed by former governor Sam Brownback.

Cowley County is considered a “gateway to the Flint Hills,” which is why it was affected by the moratorium, county appraiser Lucas Goff said.

Commissioner Wayne Wilt said the county should go after the wind farms as a source of revenue that could “help everybody:” the county, landowners and individual job seekers. The commissioners also stated that it is local residents, not the state, which should determine the suitability of wind mills for a particular area.

Goff and Wilt said they know of several counties that have benefited from the wind mills.

A letter from the commissioners of Elk County asking Gov. Kelly to reverse the moratorium stated that the one wind farm they do have brought in just more than $1 million this past year.

“That may not seem like much,” the letter states, “but the County’s total budget is only $6.7 million.”