September 16, 2014
Ohio

Paulding County wind farms delayed by lack of financing

Tom Knox, Reporter- Columbus Business First | Sep 15, 2014 | www.bizjournals.com

Two proposed wind farms in Paulding County have not been built because the company proposing them is unable to enter into a long-term agreement to support their financing. But with upcoming coal plant retirements, that could change, attorneys for a subsidiary of EDP Renewables told the Ohio Power Siting Board.

Those changes mean the Timber Road I and III projects, a combined 60 turbines and 100 megawatts, should be granted three-year extensions, the company said in recent filings.

“Although market forces have hindered the project’s development, the electric generation market has experienced other changes recently (several coal plants are expected to retire in the near term), and generation capacity is anticipated to be needed for Ohio and the region,” an attorney for the company told regulators.

Both wind farms would be adjacent to the existing 55-turbine, 99-megawatt Timber Road II wind farm built in Paulding County in 2011. It’s the first commercial wind farm built in the state.

The extension proposals come on the heels of two three-year extensions granted to Ohio wind projects last month. Those farms, also in northwestern Ohio, cited similar market forces in their requests.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/09/16/paulding-county-wind-farms-delayed-by-lack-of-financing/