Kansas is a national leader in harnessing wind power, a renewable energy source. The state’s location in the Great Plains, part of the extensive “Wind Belt” of the central United States, provides consistent air currents ideal for utility-scale development. This geographic advantage has transformed the Kansas landscape, making wind energy a primary source of electricity production. This article details the physical scale of this infrastructure and the substantial energy output it provides.
The Physical Scale of Wind Power in Kansas
The size of Kansas’s wind energy infrastructure is measured by the count of turbines populating its plains. The state is home to nearly 4,000 utility-scale wind turbines, representing a significant investment in renewable technology. This number places Kansas among the top states nationally for the number of installed turbines.
These structures are organized into numerous commercial operations. The state features approximately 52 utility-scale wind farms, concentrated primarily in the central and western regions where wind resources are strongest. Modern turbines are substantial, with some reaching heights over 400 feet, illustrating the scale of the state’s energy transformation.
Total Energy Capacity and Annual Generation
The power of these turbines is quantified in two measures: capacity and actual generation. Capacity refers to the maximum potential output the wind farms can achieve, measured in megawatts (MW). At the close of 2024, Kansas’s total installed wind capacity reached approximately 9,000 MW, establishing a strong foundation of potential power.
Actual energy generation measures the real-world output over time, typically tracked in gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually. While capacity indicates the maximum potential, generation reflects the actual amount of power delivered to the electrical grid. This output is subject to the natural variability of wind speeds and the efficiency of the turbines.
In 2024, Kansas wind farms produced roughly 30,000 GWh of electricity for the state’s grid. This substantial annual output highlights the reliability and productivity of the state’s wind resources, even with the inherent fluctuations of an intermittent power source.
Kansas’s National Ranking and State Energy Mix
The combination of installed capacity and high annual generation places Kansas in a leading position nationally. The state ranks fourth across the United States in total wind-powered generation. This ranking indicates that only three other states produce more electricity from wind than Kansas.
The state’s reliance on wind power is pronounced when examining its in-state electricity generation mix. In 2024, wind accounted for 52% of Kansas’s total net electricity generation. This figure solidified Kansas as having the third-largest share of electricity generated from wind in the nation, behind only Iowa and South Dakota.
This majority share represents a fundamental shift in the state’s energy profile, with wind surpassing coal as the largest source of electricity generation in 2019. This reliance highlights the importance of the Kansas plains in providing a stable, high-volume contribution to the regional power grid.