Wind Power Developments in Ohio, United States

August 28, by Colin Houghton

On February 11, 2010, the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory released the first comprehensive update of the wind energy potential by state since 1993, showing that Ohio had potential to install 55 GW of onshore wind power nameplate, capable of generating 152 TW annually. The Ohio Department of Development used these wind maps show that Ohio has tremendous resources of on shore wind power, combined with many ideal locations for utility-scale wind development. The State’s extensive farmlands offer ideal locations for wind turbines and a new source of long-term revenue for farmers, with little or no impact to their traditional agricultural operations. Already many landowners are recognising that modern, utility-scale wind turbines can provide them with added income to a landowner through land lease agreement with wind developers. This boost to Ohio’s rural economies and the additional income for farmers is expected to reinvigorate rural Ohio.

WInd Power in Ohio1 Wind Power Developments in Ohio, United States

Interestingly, one of the State’s early wind turbines, built in 2007 to save energy costs and hooked into all of Erie Town’s schools, in Whiteside County, may now be put up for sale. The issue is a simple economic one. The savings the turbine makes in the schools’ electricity bills, versus the cost of maintenance of the turbine. Part of the issue is that the turbine is quite a rare model and the Schools have found it difficult to find experts to make repairs at reasonable costs. A final decision is expected this month (August).

What about off shore developments? The Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation

plans to have five 4.5-megawatt turbines installed off the shores of Cleveland by 2013. Lake Erie is the one large untapped resource of wind in Ohio. Its shallow depth and shelter from hurricanes provide advantages in terms of both ease of construction as well as safety of investment. Although land based wind farms frequently have lower siting costs, offshore wind farms usually have better wind, as open water lacks obstructions such as forests, buildings and hills.

Elsewhere in Ohio, crews from Houston-based Horizon Wind Energy are in the midst of a $1 billion plan to build hundreds of wind turbines in Paulding and Van Wert counties, Ohio. The community can expect to see dozens of turbines by the end of this summer, said Tony Langham, director of Paulding County Economic Development Inc.

Ohio is shown in dark blue on the map below, with Lake Erie to its North.

US Map 300x2311 Wind Power Developments in Ohio, United States