By CARL E. FEATHER - Staff Writer - cfeather@starbeacon.com
The Ashtabula County Port Authority will be watching the outcome of an Ohio Department of Natural Resources meeting today to address leasing policies related to Lake Erie wind farms.
Chairman John Palo said the authority, and others along Lake Erie, is being approached by wind farm firms interested in using the authority in a sponsorship role for these projects. The authority’s property at Plant C on Lake Road is one parcel of interest; it offers about 23 acres of lakefront land that has been remediated and could be a site for wind turbines.
An even larger development could go up in Lake Erie near the international line off the shore of Plant C. Apex, a division of Greenlight Energy Resources, has proposed a 122-acre site with a 2,000 to 3,000 megawatt potential. The kind of turbines proposed for the area would each generate 1 to 2 megawatts; by comparison, the wind turbine recently erected at the Conneaut City Schools property near Interstate 90 generates 0.6 megawatts.
“It’s a $200 million concept,” Palo said.
The power would be transferred from the wind farm through an underwater cable that would reach shore at Plant C. The Port Authority’s ownership of the lakefront land, plus its proximity to the power grid, makes the Ashtabula Township site desirable.
However, with electricity costing even more in Canada than in the U.S., there is the possibility Apex could get a larger return on its investment by going north with the power cable, Palo said.
The authority’s role would be to sponsor the project. Palo said the ODNR meeting today is to develop the regulations for that process, which is expected to involve three steps: permits to do wind studies in the area of interest, applying for an option on the land and the actual leasing.
Authority members say the state wants to make sure that if a lease is let, the energy company follows through with a project rather than tie it up for competitive reasons.
Palo said the authority has been talking with Apex representatives for about a year, and this is all “very preliminary.” There is a great deal of interest in building wind farms in Lake Erie, and other port authorities are being courted by energy firms, as well.
“The winds are really terrific out there,” he said.
According to information from Apex, there are many challenges to offshore wind in the Great Lakes, including a higher cost of electricity, ice, operational access in winter and vessels required for installation, operation and maintenance.
