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 do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Return amendment, local rights to HB 6
The Reineke amendment, which the Ohio Senate Energy Committee removed from House Bill 6, allows citizens whose townships are slated for industrial wind turbine facilities to vote whether the facility is compatible with their community. Critics of the amendment say it isn’t fair to have a wind company invest thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work to then have the project denied by a citizen vote. But businesses take this kind of risk all the time. They routinely . . . Complete story »
Strangled Ohio wind industry: ‘We don’t want to give up’
For the past five years, wind developers in Ohio have faced what they describe as among the most restrictive turbine-siting rules anywhere in the United States. More challenges may be mounting. Ohio lawmakers are now considering a controversial energy bill, H.B. 6, that would eliminate or weaken the state’s renewable energy standard – a long-sought move by Republicans that would further undermine wind development there. Another legislative effort would increase the risk faced in siting new projects (Energywire, May 24). Yet . . . Complete story »
No voice for the wind turbine projects
In a Seneca, Huron, Erie, Sandusky and Crawford counties area residents are left without a voice in industrial wind turbine (IWT) projects that will impact their area. Not one, two, three, four, or even five, but SIX potential IWT projects are currently in some stage in the development process. What voice is there for people who are slated to live only 1,300ft from these 600+ foot tall IWT’s? Little to none, all because of Ohio’s flawed siting policy. In Ohio . . . Complete story »
Residents have the right to limit wind projects
Developers of wind energy projects have been using state-backed force to locate their multiple-square-mile projects in communities with no input from local residents. At issue is the right of local residents to have a voice in the future of their own community. Across Ohio private citizens are uniting and taking their issue to the state legislature. But the chamber says it would be a “dangerous precedent” should these citizens have a chance to decide whether hundreds of 600-foot-tall wind machines . . . Complete story »
OPSB reschedules hearings for Seneca Wind Farm
COLUMBUS – The Ohio Power Siting Board has rescheduled hearings regarding Seneca Wind LLC’s hearing for 3-8 p.m. July 23 at Tiffin University, Marion Center, 235 Miami St. The hearing is to provide an opportunity for local people interested in the project area, who are not parties to the case, to provide testimony regarding the proposed facility, according an OPSB news release. An adjudicatory hearing is to take place at 10 a.m. Aug. 26 in hearing room 11A, at the offices . . . Complete story »
Ohio agency staffers recommend denial of Seneca Wind project
TIFFIN – Although a final decision has yet to be made on sPower’s proposed Seneca Wind project, Ohio Power Siting Board staffers recommended Wednesday that the agency’s board of directors reject it. The proposed wind farm would consist of up to 77 of the tallest commercial-scale wind turbines in this part of the country. The company, based in Utah, wants to install the machines in Seneca County’s Scipio, Reed, Venice, Eden, and Bloom townships east of Tiffin. In its report, the . . . Complete story »
Ohio Supreme Court decision addresses certificate amendments and setback waivers for wind projects
On June 20, 2019, the Ohio Supreme Court held that the Ohio Power Siting Board’s (OPSB) approval of new wind turbine models was not an “amendment” of the certificate filed by Greenwich Windpark, L.L.C. (Greenwich) and did not trigger the current setback requirements in In re Application of 6011 Greenwich Windpark, L.L.C. Slip Op. No. 2019-Ohio-2406. In August 2014, the Board approved Greenwich’s application to construct a wind farm subject to 53 conditions. The proposed facility would consist of up . . . Complete story »
Not so clean wind energy and House Bill 6
Ohio’s best wind resources are Iowa’s worst. So why build thousands of massive 600- to 650-foot wind turbines in northwest Ohio? It’s all about the subsidies. Wind turbines aren’t green by any stretch of the imagination, although corporations have spent millions in Ohio to convince the public otherwise. Wind turbines produce energy that is intermittent and unpredictable. They must be backed up by fossil fuels in new “peaker plants” which produce at least 25 percent more pollutants than the baseload . . . Complete story »
State board seeks public comments on proposed wind rules
The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) has issued proposed rules applicable to wind-powered electric generation facilities in Ohio Administrative Code 4906-4-09. The OPSB initiated this rulemaking proceeding to investigate whether to adopt a rule requiring turbine operators to report turbine incidents. The board seeks comments on the proposed rules from members of the public and industry stakeholders by July 11 and reply comments by July 26. The OPSB also seeks comments on a proposed revision to its rules to make . . . Complete story »
Residents share views about wind turbines in Huron County
GREENWICH – In the wake of the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision to not impose more strict wind turbine regulations, local residents chimed in. Voted on Thursday, the decision allows wind farm facilities to use different turbine types without having to undergo additional setback requirements. (A recent article on wind turbine “setbacks” was published in the Reflector.) “We don’t want ‘em,” said a resident near the edge of Greenwich, who asked not to be identified. “What I’m hearing (is that) they’re (wind . . . Complete story »
