KING CITY, Mo. -- Some people hate wind farms for chopping up birds. Others claim their vibrations can make you crazy or sick. But they’re cheaper and faster to build than conventional power plants.

Missouri is one of 30 states with companies harnessing breezes and blasts. Some government leaders in southwest Missouri are eying the benefits that they see accruing here in northwest Missouri.

On sites in three counties, 100 turbines with 140-foot fans crank out enough megawatts to power tens of thousands of homes. They’re 80 miles north of Kansas City, towering above the countryside where the wind is always blowing over what people jokingly call “the tundra” in winter.

John Hensley, project developer for the Wind Capital Group, says the wind blows at an average speed of 15 to 18 miles per hour here; that's a good rate compared to the rest of Missouri. The first turbines started turning a year ago.

Tom Carnahan, president of Wind Capital Group, figures wind will provide between 10 and 30 percent of the state’s energy portfolio within 20 years. Carnahan, son of late Gov. Mel Carnahan and former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan, connects investors with electric co-ops that need more power.

“Once you build a wind project, and since its fuel is free, you can count on steady energy prices,” said Carnahan.

King City is counting on a windfall from the wind farm for the next 20 years. This tiny farming community has been in decline for the past 20 years.

Mesmerized tourists aren't crowding the town café anymore but the local school district is setting sail for better times ahead after years of cutbacks.

The district expects a revenue increase between $180,000 and $225,000 next year from taxes paid by Wind Capital Group. District Superintendent Kendell Ebersold says wind-power revenue is like 100-percent approval of higher taxes.

“It's the same as passing a $1.15 levy increase,” said Ebersold, who’s headed the district for 14 years.

Some people in Exeter, a town in Barry County about 300 miles due south of King City, are eyeing the money blowing into King City.

“This is the best spot in southwest Missouri,” said Exeter School District Superintendent Tina Nolan.

For the next wind farm with up to 30 turbines, Wind Capital Group has been measuring the gustiness for several months and leasing land near Exeter. Nolan feels a financial breeze at her back like her King City counterpart.

“We'd be in the 21st Century finally, and have been waiting for word about a start date,” she said.

If and when the $80 million construction project starts in Exeter, local governments can expect money to start flowing through the economy.

“It’s lots easier than other things I've done in farming,” said farmer and Barry County Presiding Commissioner Cherry Warren.

With payments of $4,000 a year per turbine, electricity-generating turbines on farms are the new bumper crop. Warren figures his grandchildren won't be selling their inheritance.

“You'd like to think you're a visionary. But, if you bought property back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, you weren't thinking about a wind farm,” said Warren.

If a wind farm is built in Exeter, a four-state area co-op could be on the short list for buying the power from it. However, even if Wind Capital Group decides to put a turbine farm there, there could be delays in construction. The popularity of wind farms has a led to a major shortage of turbines and those huge blades.