A Kansas-based energy company is preparing plans for a giant wind farm for west Benton County that would build about 100 turbines generating enough electricity to power up to 40, 000 houses.

TradeWind Energy of Lenexa, Kan., finalized lease agreements for the initial 2, 000 acres just north of Maysville for what it's calling the Honey Creek Wind Project, said Aaron Weigel, the project's development manager.

Honey Creek eventually will include 26, 000 acres that will straddle the Arkansas-Oklahoma border, he said. The property would span a perimeter that's about 8 miles wide by 5 miles long between Gravette and Jay, Okla. As much as 15, 000 acres will be covered with turbines, Weigel said. The rest will be used to "protect the winds." Plans for the wind farm depend on many factors, the first of which is data the company hopes to collect from a meteorological tower in Sulphur Springs. Weigel is scheduled to go before the Benton County Planning Board on Wednesday for final approval on the tower. He said if the project goes through - something that could take years - it would bring an economic boost to the county through a handful of jobs and increased property tax revenue. "I think it'll put us on the cutting edge in the state in providing natural resources and make us somewhat of a leader for clean energy in Arkansas," said Heath Ward, chairman of the Benton County Planning Board.

Arkansas' potential wind energy has become a popular topic in recent months with soaring gas prices and the debut of the Pickens Plan - an effort by Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens to decrease America's dependency on foreign oil.

He's launched TV commercials promoting cleaner energy and has taken his plan, which includes building wind farms throughout the wind corridor of the Great Plains, to Congress.

The corridor includes Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and others in the region where land is relatively flat and wind speeds are consistent.

Maps that illustrate wind power potential show areas of measurable activity peppering Northwest and north-central Arkansas. At best, however, the state's potential is shown as marginal.

Wind resources are measured in wind power classes ranging from 1 to 7. Areas marked as Class 4 or greater are suitable for wind energy production, according to the U. S. Department of Energy. The department's Web site, www. eere. energy. gov, states that areas designated as Class 3 may be suitable for wind energy production in the future when newer technology is developed. Class 2 is considered marginal, and Class 1 is unsuitable.

Arkansas' areas mostly are labeled as Class 2 s with some Class 3 s identified on Ouachita and Boston mountain ridges.

Some experts, though, believe Arkansas is windy enough for wind energy to make sense, said Jenny Ahlen, Renewable Energy Programs coordinator for the Arkansas Energy Office.

"I think that it will happen," she said of wind development. "The question of when, I guess, is the more serious question." With current wind turbine technology, it makes the most sense economically to develop wind farms and other wind energy generators in states with higher potential, she said.

However, at least four or five wind development companies are eyeing Arkansas for potential projects, she said.

Because of the competitive nature of the industry, companies are tightlipped about plans.

State and federal incentives likely will be drivers in local developments, she said.

"People are in this business to make money while providing a clean energy source," Ahlen said. "If they're not going to make money, they're not going to do it." Stephan Pollard started Fayetteville-based Throttle 6 Wind Energy Development about a year ago with partner Terry Tremwel.

Other areas ripe for wind development in the Great Plains have been taken, and developers are beginning to look elsewhere for opportunities, he said.

"Heights of turbines are getting higher and higher," he said. "With this improvement in technology, areas that were once thought of as out of the question are actually looking more appealing." Honey Creek would be a good candidate for the newer, taller technology, said Weigel, its development manager.

Turbines average about 262 feet from the ground to the center of the turbine's hub.

ome companies are building 295-foot tall towers. Spinning blades can reach another 100-150 feet above that.

While Northwest Arkansas generally is pegged with the most wind potential, Pollard believes the Arkansas River Delta in the east could be a good place for development.

"Right now, it's borderline viable," he said of the wind there. "The Delta would be a very easy place to construct farms, because it's flat, easy to get construction equipment out to locations, and you don't have to deal with as many landowners." Additionally, it would help elevate economically depressed communities. "State economic development officials would just eat this up," he said. "Everybody in the state would." MOVING FORWARD It could take between three and 10 years before Honey Creek is functional, even if tests from the meteorological tower are favorable, Weigel said.

TradeWind will need support from landowners, local government, financial institutions and find a utility company willing to buy the energy.

"That's what drives the entire project," he said of selling the energy. Southwestern Electric Power Co. would be the company's likely target, he said.

Weigel said his company will continue its leasing campaign, but there is no deadline for TradeWind to acquire the 24, 000 remaining acres.

Meanwhile, TradeWind will go forward with the meteorological test tower, and collect and analyze the data.

The Benton County Planning Board hasn't decided whether to allow TradeWind to place its tower in Sulphur Springs.

If Honey Creek comes to fruition, Ward, the board's chairman, said the project will be held to the standards of the county's Planning Department.

"As long as they meet Benton County requirements and stipulations of the Planning Board and there are no real negative impacts, it would be what I would consider a favorable project," he said.

He knows there will be people who oppose the project but believes most will see its benefits.

It's too soon to say how members of the Arkansas Property Rights Association will view the project, said Don Day, the group's president.

"I doubt there will be a lot of opposition," he said. "I would think the people of Arkansas would recognize the need for alternative forms of energy. I think they would probably approve it." On the other hand, he said, environmentalists don't want the wind towers in their own backyard.

Dan Scheiman, bird conservation director for Audubon Arkansas, said the group would keep a close eye on the project.

"The National Audubon Society is in favor of wind farm energy. But our stance is, wind farms need to be properly sited and need to be sure there's not an extreme amount of take," he said, referring to birds being misplaced, killed or their habitats negatively affected. "I suppose you can't stop some accidents here and there, but you don't want to put a wind farm in a migration corridor or where there are hawks or where endangered and threatened birds live. You're just asking for trouble there." Wind farms in Oklahoma have displaced rare prairie chickens, and that any company developing in Arkansas should avoid the same problems, he said.

"There's no reason to make a very rare bird even rarer," Scheiman said.

He hasn't studied the specific area where Honey Creek could be located, but said he knows there are several birds of prey that have habitats in the area.

Benton County judge candidates, state Sen. Dave Bisbee and Bill Williams, said they'd support the project if it's feasible.

"I question whether Benton County has enough wind, but that's somebody else's business," Bisbee said. "America's got to do something. I would certainly be supportive of it if there's enough wind." Williams said this type of imaginative use of technology will be the county's salvation during economic hard times. "I don't know enough details to say whether I agree with [Honey Creek ], but that sort of thing is exactly on track to help us develop the best 21 st century Benton County that we can have," he said. TradeWind isn't the first company to investigate Arkansas for wind production projects, Pollard said. Several others are waiting for the Legislature to pass incentives to develop wind power, he said. Turbines could be built elsewhere in the state in as early as 18 months but declined to say where. Regardless, people are going to have to decide what kind of energy they want to produce, he said. "The question that it all boils down to is, what do you want to see," Pollard said, "coal fire plants or sweeping wind turbines."