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.
An offshore wind farm on Lake Erie moves closer to reality, but will it ever be built?
Icebreaker would be the first freshwater wind farm in North America. But after more than a decade, it is still jumping hurdles and polarizing environmental groups. On the rare clear day, the wind farm’s turbines would stand offshore, resembling six matchsticks on the horizon. If it is finally built off the coast of Cleveland, eight miles out in the shallow waters of Lake Erie, Icebreaker Wind would be the first freshwater offshore wind farm in North America. But the project, . . . Complete story »
Icebreaker offshore wind project faces more obstacles
Lake Erie Energy Development Corp.’s efforts to put wind turbines like this one offshore of Cleveland suffered yet another setback in court on Oct. 20. Just two weeks after overcoming a major state regulatory hurdle, a federal judge in the District of Columbia levied yet another setback for a plan by the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo) to build the region’s first offshore wind farm on Lake Erie. A U.S. District Judge on Tuesday, Oct. 20, ruled in favor . . . Complete story »
OPSB removes modified turbine feathering requirement from Icebreaker project
The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) has formally adopted an oral motion – that was unanimously approved – which removes a requirement that Icebreaker Windpower Inc. must completely feather wind turbines, stopping them from rotating, during nighttime hours from March 1 through Nov. 1. The board order on rehearing grants in part, and denies, in part, the application for rehearing filed in this proceeding by Icebreaker and denies applications for rehearing filed by other parties to the case. If constructed, . . . Complete story »
Columbus voters to decide green-energy aggregation plan
Columbus residents will decide in November whether to approve Issue 1, an “opt-out” green-energy electricity aggregation plan that promises to supply 100% of the city’s power needs with renewable energy by 2023. Details of the plan are to be worked out after the vote – including how much the power will cost residents on their monthly bills, as well as when and where the wind and solar farms proposed by contract-winner AEP Energy will be constructed. The plan would automatically . . . Complete story »
New entry filed in Republic Wind turbine application
The Ohio Power Siting Board filed an entry Thursday regarding a hearing that took place Wednesday in the matter of Republic Wind’s application for a certificate to construct wind turbines in Adams, Reed, Scipio and Thompson townships in Seneca County and York Township in Sandusky County. The supplemental evidentiary hearing took place to establish a timeline for filing supplemental briefs on two topics, according to the Republic Wind filing docket on the OPSB website. Entries show OPSB granted a motion . . . Complete story »
The future of a Lake Erie’s Icebreaker windfarm remains up in the air
Lake Erie is an abundant natural resource with 10,000 square miles of water, wind and wildlife. For more than a decade a group in Cleveland has been working to harness Lake Erie’s wind energy with a proposed six turbine windfarm called Icebreaker. But the project ran afoul of regulators earlier this year and a provision to save migrating birds has left the future of Icebreaker up in the air. The Icebreaker wind farm was the brain-child of local economic development . . . Complete story »
Ohio axes ‘poison pill’ for Lake Erie project
The prospects for the nation’s first freshwater offshore wind farm got a lift yesterday after Ohio regulators struck down a permitting requirement that might have slammed the brakes on development. The Ohio Power Siting Board approved the 20.7-megawatt Icebreaker wind farm in Lake Erie on May 21. But the board required turbines be “feathered,” or idled, at nighttime for eight months of the year to protect birds and bats – terms that made the project economically unviable, according to the developer, . . . Complete story »
Utility regulator lifts controversial restriction from Lake Erie wind farm
The Ohio Power Siting Board has repealed a provision requiring that a wind farm in Lake Erie shut down its turbines overnight from March 1 to Nov. 1. Board members unanimously approved a motion by Mary Mertz, director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, to remove the requirement at the board’s meeting Thursday. Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) applied to build the 6-turbine project named Icebreaker off Cleveland’s shoreline in 2017. It would be the first offshore, freshwater . . . Complete story »
Plans for Lake Erie wind farm clear a major hurdle, as ‘poison pill’ restriction is lifted
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Plans to build the nation’s first freshwater wind farm in Lake Erie northeast of Cleveland took a major – and unexpected – step forward Thursday, as state regulators reversed their previous decision to limit the nighttime operation of the proposed wind turbines. But despite the Ohio Power Siting Board’s decision, there are still details that need to be worked out regarding how to mitigate the harm to animals from Icebreaker Wind, a $126 million, 20.7-megawatt pilot project that has . . . Complete story »
‘Poison pill’ ruling for Lake Erie wind farm will stand, according to draft order
COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Ohio Power Siting Board is preparing to rule that it will not revisit its decision to allow the construction of Icebreaker Wind, the nation’s first freshwater offshore wind farm, in Lake Erie, with restrictions that backers say would doom the project. According to a draft ruling obtained by cleveland.com, the board is set during its meeting Thursday to reject calls by both supporters and opponents of the six-turbine, 20-megawatt wind farm to reconsider its May 21 ruling. Icebreaker . . . Complete story »
