In this issue
		Energy Services Bulletin home page
		Innovative ownership makes wind farm a good neighbor
		Arizona co-op cleans up with fly ash sales
		California utilities test peak-shifting cooling technology
		BPU helps Kansas City's biotech industry grow
		Updated cooling rebate program targets commercial customers
		Air Force leads Federal agencies in green power purchases
		Resort area utilities grapple with price of popularity
		Energy organizations make plan to encourage efficiency
		EPTC wind farm simulator answers interconnection questions
		Seminar prepares public utilities for Colorado RPS
		Topics from the Power Line: Select the right heat pump for residential heating and cooling
		Energy shorts
		Technology Spotlight: The rising cost of steam
		Calendar of events

BPU helps Kansas City 's biotech industry grow

Midland Pharmaceutical took over the site of a former pharmaceutical manufacturer. BPU helped the company reestablish electrical service and update the facility. (Photo by Midland Pharmaceutical)

Whether it means helping a locally-owned business get on its feet or bringing a large key account to town, economic development is an important part of a utility's business and one that Kansas City Board of Public Utilities takes seriously.

The municipal utility works with Wyandotte Development Inc. and Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., Unified Government to attract new businesses and grow existing companies. The partnership's efforts support the Bioscience Initiative, a key component in the Kansas Economic Growth Act passed in 2004.

The Bioscience Initiative seeks to establish the region as a center for the life science industry. "We have a 250-mile bioresearch corridor of universities, hospitals and manufacturers," said BPU Economic Development Director George Powell. "It runs from Kansas State University and the University of Kansas in the west to the University of Missouri at Columbia, so the resources exist to support all types of bioscience businesses."

Making old property fit new company

BPU's experience serving the needs of medical and research facilities is helping Paul Sudhaker launch a new business, Midland Pharmaceutical. Sudhaker, a local resident with 20 years' experience in the pharmaceutical business, decided to start his own full-service firm to develop and produce products. "There's a lot of growth opportunity here that you wouldn't find in an area that the industry has already saturated," he explained. "The community is really pushing for it."

Sudhaker bought a property in 2004 that had been occupied by another pharmaceutical company. "The multi-acre site was larger than Midland needed," said Powell. "BPU was ready to work with Sudhaker to shed some of the space and reestablish electrical service to the facilities."

The first step was evaluating electrical reliability, determining amperage requirements and obtaining service voltage. BPU installed an on-site distribution system and updated transformers, wires and poles. An older building was demolished and another converted to warehouse space. Midland bought new equipment to replace some of the older lab equipment that was still on the premises.

Incentives to help startup

The upgraded electrical service will cut Midland's power consumption, and BPU's five-year, stair-stepped energy discount will help the new company control costs during the first critical years. BPU offers this incentive to new and expanding businesses with a minimum electrical demand.

New business accounts receive a first-year, 50-percent discount on their costs per kWh, less fuel. Small businesses must have a demand of 200 kW or more to be eligible, while the minimum demand for large businesses is 500 kW. The discount decreases by 10 percent each subsequent year. "It makes a big difference with cash flow when a new or expanding business is gearing up," said Powell.

Existing manufacturers must grow their demand by 20 percent to qualify for the program. Those with a 200-kW load receive a three-year, stepped discount. The five-year discount is available to companies that meet the 500-kW minimum.

BPU also helped Midland apply for a state sales tax discount for manufacturers, and WDI coordinated the state connections for an economic development training grant, sales tax abatement on new equipment and machinery, and local connections with the Unified Government for real estate tax abatements. Midland began production of generic prescription medicines in March. "We've learned to be patient with the approval process for bioscience facilities," said Powell. "It can't be pushed through in a hurry."

Hospitals consult on electrical needs

That experience and understanding is a valuable resource to other BPU customers in the industry. The University of Kansas Hospital and the University of Kansas Medical Center are expanding with BPU's help. When the hospital separated from the university, BPU rebuilt five feeders over a distance of about three quarters of a mile and split the service lines that fed the entire facility. "We worked closely with the university's consultants and engineers, and did it without a single interruption to service," Powell noted proudly.

The collaboration will continue on the 50,000-sq. ft. heart center and supporting utility plant the hospital is building. The center is expected to open in fall 2006.

BPU is consulting with KUMC on the construction of its 250,000-sq. ft. Biomedical Research Building, also set to open this year. Because loss of power in such a facility could destroy years of research, KUMC views BPU's input as critical.

Such projects will increase Wyandotte County's reputation as a bioscience center, and businesses, employees and students are likely to follow. As the high-tech industry grows, so will Kansas City's need for reliable electric and water service, and providing that to the community is BPU's business. That, and economic development.