Westar Energy, Renewable Energy Systems Americas Plans to Break Ground for Wind Farm June 20th

TOPEKA, KS, Jun 19 (MARKET WIRE) --
Westar Energy (NYSE: WR) and Renewable Energy Systems Americas (RES) will
conduct a ground-breaking ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Friday, June 20 at the
Central Plains Wind Farm site, 229 N. CR 23, Marienthal, KS, 67863.

Speakers include Kansas Lieutenant Governor Mark Parkinson, Wichita County
Economic Development Director Sharla Krenzel and officers with Westar and
RES.

Central Plains Wind Farm is a 99-megawatt (MW) project developed by RES
and owned and operated by Westar.

"Western Kansas has an ample natural supply of wind and the support of the
local residents and community leaders make Wichita County a prime location
for a wind farm," said Greg Greenwood, vice president, generation
construction for Westar Energy. "This groundbreaking symbolizes the
commitment Westar has for providing clean, renewable energy to our
customers and the state of Kansas. We're excited to be new neighbors in
Wichita County."

Central Plains is expected to go online by the end of 2008. Westar is also
investing in two other wind farms: Meridian Way Wind Farm in Cloud County
near Concordia and Flat Ridge Wind Farm in Barber County near Medicine
Lodge. Westar will purchase under contract energy produced at Meridian
Way, and will own half of the wind farm at Flat Ridge and purchase under
a power purchase agreement the energy from the remaining half.

Directions to the wind farm site: 229 N. CR 23, Marienthal, KS, 67863:

From Leoti, drive east on Highway 96 toward Marienthal. Turn left (head
north) on CR 23. CR 23 is 2.5 miles east of Marienthal. The site is
located 1.4 miles north of Highway 96, just north of O road on the west
side of CR 23.

From Scott City, drive west on Highway 96 toward Marienthal. Turn right
(head north) on CR 23. CR 23 is two miles west of the Wichita/Scott County
line. The site is located 1.4 miles north of Highway 96, just north of O
road on the west side of CR 23.

Westar Energy, Inc. (NYSE: WR) is the largest electric utility in Kansas,
providing electric service to about 675,000 customers in the state. Westar
Energy has nearly 6,200 megawatts of electric generation capacity and
operates and coordinates approximately 33,000 miles of electric
distribution and transmission lines.

For more information about Westar Energy, visit us on the Internet at
http://www.WestarEnergy.com.

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