Wind Power News: Ohio
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted.
Company plans $100M wind farm in Hardin Co.
DOLA — A company plans to construct a $100 million wind turbine farm in northern Hardin County which would generate 50 megawatts of electric power, enough for 12,000 homes.
JW Great Lakes Wind, Cleveland, held a public hearing this week to present its plans for the farm, which would be located on about 3,400 acres in northern Hardin County, west of Dola and north of Ohio 81.
The company would construct 19 to 27 wind turbines, project manager Peter Endres said. Each . . .
Wind farms in the works for Hardin County
ADA — Warm sun and ample rain has always been foremost Hardin County’s agricultural industry, but the county’s newest farming operation may rely solely on the wind.
JW Great Lakes, a Cleveland-based wind energy company, is planning two sprawling wind farms in Hardin County that could produce enough electricity to light thousands of homes — and bring big bucks to the county.
“It’s the best opportunity we’ve had for economic development in a long time,” said John Hohn, vice president for economic . . .
Councilman Jim Piteo proposes wind turbine rules for Independence
INDEPENDENCE — Councilman Jim Piteo wants City Council to pass legislation regarding the use of wind turbines.
“Legislation of this type sets ground rules for how this technology is to be managed within the guidelines of our codes and city practices,” he said. “It gives the Architectural Board of Review, the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Planning Commission a template in which to work when talking with potential applicants.
“It also sends a positive message to potential customers who may want . . .
Turbines taken down temporarily at Perkins High School
The three wind turbines at Perkins High School, which have been deactivated ever since high winds caused one to shed its blades in February, have been dismantled. School officials say it’s temporary, and the turbines will be put back up after brakes are installed to prevent the turbines from turning too fast in high winds. The turbines will also receive smaller blades.
Sandusky Register
27 June 2009
Commissioners pass resolution to do wind study at Ashtabula County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
From the high elevation at the Ashtabula County Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Dibble Road, Ashtabula County commissioner Daniel Claypool can see the dark-blue strip of Lake Erie two miles to the north and feel its brisk breezes
Lately, Claypool has been wondering if this parcel of county-owned land would be a good place to set up a few wind turbines that could capture that wind and convert it into electricity to run the county’s three operations at this crossroads: the . . .
Wind energy is unreliable in emergency
I respond to the Associated Press article “Watt an idea!” in the June 7 Dispatch. It took me a few days before I could compose myself enough to form a cogent thought.
There are approximately 5,000 power dispatchers across the country. When one of these dispatchers gets a distress call from a power plant operator that a 500-milliwatt generator is going off-line due to a mechanical problem, the dispatcher wields an enormous amount of power by immediately scheduling and replacing 500 . . .
Wind turbine noise bad for animals
“I don’t even hear them. If you’re standing right under it, you can hear a tiny buzz,” said a Sheffield resident, referring to two recently assembled lakefront wind turbines.
Not so for herds of Australian sheep that died from insomnia caused by wind turbine noise. Wind turbines don’t make good neighbors to equestrian riding and breeding businesses, either. Noise from the blades can spook and irritate horses, cause harm to riders and disrupt training.
What about the impact on flocks of birds . . .
Monroe wind power could face challenges
Monroe has high hopes of becoming a big player in the nation’s wind-energy boom someday because of a parts manufacturer that has agreed to build a $19 million factory there.
But the greater Monroe area and others along western Lake Erie face an obstacle to hosting a large number of the commercial or utility-scale wind turbines.
A report issued this month by an 11-member board created by the Michigan Public Service Commission identified four regions as Michigan’s best for harnessing wind. None . . .
Wind turbines could be on Great Lakes in 3 years
The first wind turbine development on the Great Lakes could be built within three years or so, experts on offshore wind power said during a conference Wednesday in Milwaukee.
The first project is expected to consist of three to five turbines just off the shore of Cleveland in Lake Erie.
The project is being pushed by the Cuyahoga County government as an economic development strategy to help boost the development of a wind-power manufacturing industry in a state that’s been hit hard . . .
North Royalton encourages FirstEnergy to stress wind turbine power
North Royalton City Council wants to jump-start the region’s potential wind turbine industry.
Council members are tweaking a proposed resolution that urges FirstEnergy Corp. to use wind power to provide electric service to the city.
Council President Vincent A. Gentile introduced the resolution in the Earth Energy Environment Committee, which had its inaugural meeting Monday night.
The measure encourages FirstEnergy to provide electric to the city using 50 percent wind power over the next five years, with 100 percent wind power available in . . .
