Sep 16 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Mike Corn The Hays Daily News, Kan.

During the course of 330 working days, a hilltop northwest of Hays was transformed from windswept prairie to a high-tech facility capable of flexing its massive power to produce enough electricity to light every home in Ellis County.

On Monday, tucked under a white tent, officials with Midwest Energy and its construction partners -- many of whom traveled hundreds of miles to attend -- officially declared the facility ready to rock 'n' roll.

No one could have been any happier than Gayle Goodman, among those traveling hundreds of miles for the dedication ceremonies at the Goodman Energy Center, named for her late husband, Jack, who died in 1998. Gayle Goodman now is living in Lake Junaluska, N.C.

Jack Goodman spent 41 years at Midwest Energy's helm, a feat not likely to be outdone anytime soon.

Goodman's portrait will hang in the control room of the generating facility, Midwest Energy's Bill Dowling said as he walked a small group of people through the plant.

"Good," said Gayle Goodman, wearing the required hardhat. "I like that."

Dowling, as vice president of energy management and supply for Midwest Energy, was the point man for the development and construction of the 76-megawatt power plant, its engines powered by natural gas.

His tour group was small and included Goodman and her family members, as well as members of his own family.

"I think it's fabulous," Gayle Goodman said of the center being named in her husband's honor. "Our family is so honored."

Monday's dedication of the Goodman Center came in two sections. In the morning, about 90 people turned out for the dedication ceremony. Among those attending were construction partners, area legislators, Midwest's board of directors, city officials and members of the Hays Fire Department.

Earnie Lehman, Midwest's president and general manager, said the gathering was to formally "celebrate the opening of the Goodman Energy Center."

A second grand opening ceremony followed Monday afternoon by the Hays Area Chamber of Commerce.

"This is the right project at the right place at the right time," Lehman told those attending the morning session.

The Goodman Center is designed to help meet peak demands for electric users during the summer.

Nine natural gas-powered engines sit inside the metal building northwest of Hays, each one capable of producing 11,500 horsepower. That's equal to the power of two locomotive engines, Dowling said.

Weighing about 150 tons, the engines aren't bolted to the floor, instead suspended only by a series of springs.

During the course of the ceremony, one engine remotely was started from inside the tent, its roar audible as the unit ramped up and started producing electricity.

The engines are designed to be fired up from a cold start and be producing electricity within 10 minutes. The plant was expected to cost nearly $60 million to complete.

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