Does energy beget energy?
Lyon County Commissioner Scott Briggs believes it does, especially with the county being the site of Evergy’s Emporia Energy Center, the peak energy facility near Roads 200 and S, and Southern Power’s Reading Wind Facility in eastern Lyon and western Osage counties — as well as the 4 Rivers solar energy facility approved by the county last week.
Ground has been broken for the 4 Rivers project and formal construction could begin this month for the sun farm. The plant could produce power as soon as early June.
County residents have seen the financial results of the peak use facility and wind farm. The county levy dipped 10 mils in 2013 and 2014 after tax abatements ended in stages for the Emporia Energy Center, which started producing energy in 2008. Southern Power is not officially paying taxes on the Reading Wind Facility, but its payments in lieu of taxes are $300,000 per year for a 30-year agreement signed in 2018. That facility started producing power last year.
Briggs says Lyon County’s network of transmission lines has made the county attractive to energy providers. He also believes the existence of the Emporia Energy Center and Reading Wind Facility, combined with the new sun farm, will have more energy companies looking at Lyon County for future projects.
The 4 Rivers sun farm project is part of a partnership involving electric cooperatives across Kansas and Today’s Power, an Arkansas company, that will lead to more than 25 solar projects an 40 megawatts of new electricity once the sun farms come online.
