To: Douglas County Planning Commission and Douglas County Commissioners
In 1981 I purchased a 10-Kilowatt Jacobs Wind Charger and placed it on a hill on my farm in southern
Douglas County. The Jacobs was the Cadillac of the wind chargers. It was rated at 10 KW in a 25-mph
wind. The wind charger cost $18,000 and I received a tax subsidy of $10,000. At the time when electric
rates were increasing, the wind charger was expected to pay for itself in three years. It took 13 years to
pay off the original investment. The maintenance and repair of the wind charger were not included in
this pay out. Three times my machine threw its blades, and the inverter was fried twice by lightning. My
wind charger is now yard art. And this will be the future for these proposed wind turbines in Douglas
County, Kansas. I have observed the large wind turbine farm along the
Kansas/Oklahoma border south of Wichita at least 8 times this last year. A third of them were not
generating each time I passed them.
Wind speeds in Kansas are quite variable with many calm days especially in the summer. Thunderstorms
packing winds of 80 mph or more are also common throughout Kansas. It is rumored that there is a socalled wind tunnel over eastern Kansas. The data do not support this misconception. Average wind
speeds increase to the east of the Rocky Mountains and reach a maximum average of 27.55 mph over
Rush County in the western part of the state (Google “Kansas Average Wind Speed County Rank”).
Average wind speeds then decrease eastward and reach a minimum of 15 mph in Doniphan County. The
average wind speed in Douglas County is 17.83 mph. There is a big difference between the available
energy from the winds between Douglas and Rush County. The equation for converting Kinetic energy
(wind) to potential (electricity) is E=(1\2)M V2. Because wind velocity (V) is squared, the available energy
for Rush County is 2.4 times the energy for Douglas County for identical wind turbines. Why would any
wind power engineer choose to place these very expensive machines in eastern Kansas?
Population density is another important factor. Douglas County is considered an urban county with 266
persons per square. Ellis County has 32 and Rush has 4.1 persons per square mile. Setbacks for wind
turbines from houses, roads, or property lines vary across the State of Kansas. They range from 2,500
feet in Pratt County to Zero distance in some counties. Pratt County has a population density half that of
Douglas County
As a climate researcher for over 4 decades, the cry for zero carbon emissions has a hollow ring. CO2 is
plant food; it’s not a poison as we have been indoctrinated it to be. All the wind turbines in the USA will
not affect the global temperature one iota. Yes, the Earth is warming slightly (as measured from Earth
satellite) due to a slight increase in solar activity. In 1978 I entertained the theory that CO2 caused
global warming and that wind turbines could help slow that warming. However, after 45 years of
detailed study, I am convinced that neither are true.
I hope the Douglas County Planning Commission and the Douglas County Commissioners will consider
my thoughts on this matter. The number one argument against turbines in Douglas County is the
amount of energy produced is less than one half of that produced by an identical turbine in central
Kansas. In Physics there are no shades of gray. It is either right or wrong, and in this case wind turbines
are wrong for Douglas County.
Dr. Charles A. Perry PhD.
Douglas County Resident