Construction is scheduled to begin this Fall on three wind farms in southwest Missouri and southeast Kansas.

Liberty Utilities-Empire District announced Thursday the Missouri Public Service Commission has approved the project, which the utility says is an investment of more than $1 billion.

One wind farm will be in southeast Kansas, and the other two in southwest Missouri. North Fork Ridge wind farm will be in Barton County, and Kings Point wind farm will span across the area where Barton, Dade, Jasper and Lawrence counties intersect. The two Missouri sites will have a total of about 140 wind turbines.

The wind farms will be the first in southwest Missouri. Omaha based company, Tenaska, will build the turbines on land where Liberty has already arranged leases.

"We will only use less than 1% of their property for the wind turbines themselves, so they'll still be able to continue to operate their farms even after we get them completed," says Tim Wilson, vice president of strategic projects and energy supply for Liberty Utilities- Empire District. "It will also provide benefits to the communities, in terms of jobs during construction and ongoing jobs, as well as tax benefits."

Wilson says the wind farms will save the utility's customers, the majority being in southwest Missouri, $300 million dollars over thirty years, or about ten dollars a month per customer.

Construction is expected to start this Fall and be completed by the end of 2020. By the time the three wind farms go online, Wilson says nearly 40% of Liberty's energy will be renewable.