May 3 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Doug Graham The Joplin Globe, Mo.

Art Boyt says the reasons for no longer using renewable energy are dwindling.

"We're now at a point where the cost of wind energy is directly competitive with traditional energy sources," said Boyt, director of the Crowder College Renewable Technology Center, speaking to students and staff at Pittsburg State University on Thursday night.

Under Boyt's leadership, Crowder has been on the forefront of renewable energy technology. Soon, Boyt said, Crowder will actually produce more energy than it consumes.

A wind turbine was built at Crowder in January and will soon go into action. Energy generated from that turbine, as well as solar panels in the area, will be channeled to the Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology (MARET) building, which has not yet been built.

Energy funneled through the MARET building, estimated at 5,000 to 10,000 kilowatt hours per month, will power the Crowder campus. Boyt says there should be plenty left over to go "back to the grid."

"As a demonstration and a teaching tool, (wind turbines are) a great investment," Boyt said. "Crowder made the investment -- they were the first area school to do so -- and that project is going very well."

Boyt said wind energy produced by huge turbines is cleaner and safer than energy from coal and nuclear power. Boyt also said wind energy now makes "good economic sense" for energy companies and even colleges such as Crowder.

"Turbines pay for themselves in 10 years, and have a lifespan of 20 years," Boyt said.

States such as Kansas make ideal spots for wind farms, he said.

Dick Lipka, an education professor at PSU, said he attended the lecture because he was interested in alternative energy. After the talk, he asked Boyt about how the alternative energy projects got started at Crowder.

"We're small and we can take advantage of opportunities," Boyt said.

Lipka said he would like to see similar projects at PSU.

"I will never understand why there wasn't a turbine and solar panels built with the new technology center," Lipka said, noting that such technology would not only provide energy, but teach students as well.

Online link

To learn more about wind energy, go to the Web site of the American Wind Energy Association at www.awea.org.