OHIO APPROVES ITS FIRST WIND

Champaign County wind farm gets OK from Ohio
March 23, 2010 (Dayton Business Journal)

"…[Ohio] energy regulators have given clearance to a wind farm planned for Champaign County, the first to receive a construction license from [the state]."

"The Ohio Power Siting Board…modified and approved plans for a 54-turbine Buckeye Wind Project wind farm about 40 miles northeast of Dayton. The project is being developed by New York-based EverPower Renewables Inc."

Dayton is a long way from Ohio's greatest winds on Lake Erie but... (click to enlarge)

"EverPower originally applied to build a wind farm with 70 turbines with a price tag of about $380 million, but the board – the rule-making body for wind-powered projects in the state – rejected plans for 14 of them because of concerns they could be hazardous to aviation routes. Several civic and municipal groups had rallied on both sides of the proposal, opponents expressing worries about noise and shadow flicker and proponents stressing the project’s environmental benefits."

...Dayton is where Ohio's wind industry is. (click to enlarge)

"The Siting Board…required the company set up an informal process to field public complaints, all of which will be routed to the state. EverPower also is on the hook for damage to land and roads. Plans call for having the farm up and running by the end of next year with construction set to begin in late 2010.

"The Champaign County wind farm project was the first to officially seek approval from the state following the passage of comprehensive energy legislation that requires at least 25 percent of all electricity sold in Ohio to come from alternative sources by 2025, with at least half to be generated by renewables such as wind, solar, hydropower, biomass and geothermal. A separate bill put the Power Siting Board in charge of setting up rules for construction, operation and maintenance of wind-powered facilities."