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.
Conneaut approves demolition contract
CONNEAUT – Conneaut City Council approved a $143,000 contract for the demolition of a damaged wind turbine in the city’s harbor during Monday night’s meeting. The turbine, adjacent to the city’s wastewater treatment plant, was struck by lightning in February 2017. One of the turbine’s three blades was destroyed, and the gearbox was damaged in the strike. Conneaut filed suit against NexGen Energy Partners and Conneaut Wind, a subsidiary of NexGen that owned the turbine. The city was received control of . . . Complete story »
Wind projects operate under false equivalence
The Ohio General Assembly is currently considering legislation, Senate Bill 234, allowing local referendums on wind projects. One of the main arguments from Big Business against such a vote is that there is no precedent for referendums on any kind of energy generation projects. To buy into this argument one has to believe that wind projects are equivalent to other forms of generation projects. They are not. No other form of electrical generation project transforms entire communities into heavy industrial . . . Complete story »
OPSB hearing on Republic Wind transmission line canceled
COLUMBUS – Ohio Power Siting Board Friday suspended the procedural schedule in the case regarding Republic Wind LLC’s proposal to construct an electric transmission line in Seneca County, according to a news release from the agency. As a result of the suspension, the local public hearing that had been scheduled for Feb. 26 and the adjudicatory hearing that had been set for March 11 are canceled. OPSB will establish a new hearing schedule at a later date, the release said. The . . . Complete story »
Bids to remove turbine come in
CONNEAUT – The city has compiled bids to remove the damaged wind turbine adjacent to the city’s waterfront. The turbine was damaged in a lightning strike in 2017, and has not functioned since. The city budgeted $163,000 to remove the damaged turbine, based on bids received last year. Almost all of the bids the city received this time came in below that $163,000 figure, with only one above it, at $169,000, said City Manager Jim Hockaday. The lowest bid to do . . . Complete story »
Thompson trustees oppose Republic Wind, ODOT to do traffic study at 224/67
Thompson Township has passed a resolution opposing the Republic Wind project and the county has received word that the Ohio Department of Transportation will conduct a traffic study at US 224 and SR 67 this spring. Seneca County Commissioners heard both updates during their meeting Thursday. Kevin Oney, a newly-appointed Thompson Township trustee, reported that the township has approved a resolution opposing the Republic Wind commercial wind turbine project. He said the previous trustees had chosen not to oppose the . . . Complete story »
Conneaut turbine trial delayed until October
JEFFERSON – The jury was sent home Tuesday morning and the trial rescheduled in a legal case that has been in progress for almost a decade. The jury trial between NexGen Energy Partners and Reflecting Blue Technologies was delayed less than a week after it started. The delay was due to questions about the admissibility of thousands of pages of documents, said defense attorney David Bertsch. Those questions had the possibility to double the length of the trial, he said. “[The . . . Complete story »
Bald eagles fly into turbulent wind farm debate
REPUBLIC, Ohio – Some property owners and residents in Seneca, Sandusky, Huron, and Erie counties have challenged the proposed introduction of huge wind turbines near their homes, citing the degradation of the rural landscape that attracted them to the country in the first place. In their protracted legal and public relations battle with wind energy companies based out of state, the rural folk have also called into question the uncertainty over health risks associated with long-term exposure to the flicker created . . . Complete story »
Trial starts in turbine case
JEFFERSON – A jury heard opening statements in the legal battle between a wind turbine operator and the company that supplied the machine. The legal battle between NexGen Energy Partners LLC and Elecon Engineering has been going on since 2011, when a claim was filed against Elecon Engineering and the company’s U.S. distributor, Reflecting Blue Technologies, according to court records. The day began with instructions to the jury, with Common Pleas Judge Marianne Sezon reading a list of rules to the . . . Complete story »
Seneca Co. wind farm project put on hold indefinitely
A project that would have placed up to 77 commercial-scale wind turbines in Seneca County near Tiffin has been placed on indefinite hold, the project’s backer announced Tuesday. sPower, an independent power producer based in Salt Lake City, said that it’s announced Seneca Wind LLC wind farm project to be located in Scipio, Reed, Venice, Eden, and Bloom Townships will be placed “on hold for an undetermined period until next steps are defined by the company.” The power producer said . . . Complete story »
Seneca Wind project suspended
The Seneca Wind project that had been proposed in Seneca County has been suspended by sPower, its parent company, according to an sPower news release. The announcement was made Tuesday. The release said sPower “will not refile an application with the Ohio Power Siting Board at this time.” In early October, sPower filed a pre-application letter with OPSB for a 212-megawatt wind turbine project in Scipio, Reed, Venice, Eden and Bloom townships similar to the project the company withdrew in . . . Complete story »
