Work underway in Kansas, Missouri on wind farm project

JOPLIN, Mo. -- Work is underway on a 600-megawatt wind project in southwest Missouri and southeast Kansas.

On the Missouri side, construction has started on the North Fork Ridge Wind Farm about 20 miles north of Joplin and is expected to begin in the next month around Golden City on the King's Point Wind Farm. Both of those farms will consist of 69 wind turbines that will generate a total of about 300 megawatts, The Joplin Globe reported.

On the Kansas side, construction began in September on the Liberty Utilities-Empire District's Neosho Ridge Wind Farm north of Parsons. The 139 turbines being built there will generate the other 300 megawatts of electricity.

As work on the wind farms progress, the utility will shut down its coal-fired Asbury Power Plant in Missouri's Jasper County. The shutdown is expected no later than June 1.