GREAT LAKES WIND FOR OHIO

How Ohio got a headstart on offshore wind
Rikki Stancich, 20 May 2011 (Wind Energy Update)

"Fresh water ice, reluctant residents, and a dearth of vessels conspire against…[development of] the Great Lakes’ whopping offshore wind potential…But where many before have tried and failed…[The Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo)] has taken a pragmatic approach…Working closely with residents, publicly elected officials, and local businesses, LEEDCo has identified a pathway for rolling out a socially acceptable, financially viable, local economy-boosting offshore wind programme in Lake Erie."

Dr Lorry Wagner, president, Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo): "...We could be described as a pre-developer…[I]n Ohio, much of the offshore wind development planning has been based on monthly meetings with stakeholders since 2006. Stakeholders here in Ohio are generally supportive of offshore wind…[W]e learned from…the UK’s Round 1, where organizations paid close attention to the key issues that were raised…[and from] the top-down approach taken in Michigan, Canada and New York State, where developers and/or the government announced their intention to build massive gigawatt projects without prior consultation. People don’t like [that]…"

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Dr Lorry Wagner, president, Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo): "...Lake Erie is pretty shallow and for the pilot we are building in water depths of 19 meters. For the rest of the project the water depth will be less than 25 metres. The lakebed soil is a combination of glacial till (clay rubble and muck) and then bedrock…[I]t is unlikely that monopiles will be cost effective…[T]he leading candidate is a gravity base foundation… [F]our innovative foundations designed to reduce costs [are possibilities]…"

Dr Lorry Wagner, president, Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo): "...We are collaborating with the Cold Regions Laboratory of the US Army Corps to understand [freshwater] ice load and forces and European design of foundations for icing and how to optimise that design to be more cost effective…The traditional (sea water) solution uses an ice cone at the water line to avert pressure from the ice. So we’ll begin with something traditional and model with turbine simulation software to optimize…"

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Dr Lorry Wagner, president, Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo): "...[To build 1 gigawatt of offshore wind in Lake Erie, we] need purpose-built vessels in the Great Lakes…Another challenge is the port facilities…[T]he industry will probably be served by multiple ports…[W]e are hopeful that the Canadians will come onboard on both building a grid and building vessels…North to South, it is only 45 miles…Most projects will be 10-20 miles out, so they will virtually be back-to-back…At one time, there was a proposed 1000 MW cable between Canada and Pennsylvania…"

Dr Lorry Wagner, president, Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo): "Over the course of the next five years [the obstacles] will get sorted out…The Great Lakes are huge and Lake Erie itself is quite large; if the whole lake could be developed it has the potential for more than 60 gigawatts…The other Lakes have even more potential…"