When a busload of folks from Champaign County sets out on a field trip next week to get a close look at wind turbines, Tina Knotts plans to be on board.

She was born and raised in Champaign County and is executive director of the local chamber of commerce. And because her community could become home to the first large-scale wind farm in Ohio, she figures she'd better get up to speed.

"To support something or oppose something, I believe you need to have all the facts," she said. "I am very intrigued."

A company called Buckeye Wind has leased 9,000 acres from 60 property owners in Champaign County and proposes building 70 turbines. Each one would be 492 feet tall, nearly the size of the 555-foot-tall LeVeque Tower in Downtown Columbus.

Knotts and about 50 others will travel on Oct. 21 to see four wind turbines just outside Bowling Green in northwestern Ohio on a trip arranged by the Champaign County Farm Bureau.

It will be the last scheduled trip before the Ohio Power Siting Board holds the first-ever public hearing to consider permitting a large wind-energy operation in Ohio. A change in state law last year gave the board the authority over such projects.

The hearing is set for Oct. 28 at Triad High School in North Lewisburg, even as new questions arise over whether the proposed turbines are too close to an airport to be safe.

Buckeye Wind and its parent company, EverPower Wind Holdings, were the first to submit plans this past spring. Three other companies also have proposed large-scale wind farms in Ohio.

Buckeye Wind's application gives the public its first real look at the scope of the project. It says the 70 turbines collectively would have the capacity to generate enough electricity to power about 42,000 homes a year. That electricity would be sold into the power grid.

By comparison, the American Electric Power Conesville plant, near Coshocton in eastern Ohio, has averaged enough energy in the past three years to power 787,700 homes each year, spokeswoman Melissa McHenry said.

Maps indicate that people would be able to see the tops of many of the turbines from within a good portion of a 5-mile radius of the wind project. Some would see all of them.

If all goes according to plan, construction could begin next summer, said company spokesman Michael Speerschneider.

Yet public sentiment remains divided, and a recent report from the Federal Aviation Administration only added to concerns.

The FAA said that 38 of the proposed turbines are too tall to be placed near the Urbana municipal airport, as plans suggest. Generally, the FAA restricts structures to 200 feet or less near such airports.

The Urbana City Council held an emergency meeting on Friday and voted to ask the Power Siting Board to let the city have a say in the project because the airport might be affected.

Speerschneider said this hitch was expected and that there are "viable solutions" to the airport problem. He would not say what they are.

Knotts said she is excited about the potential economic impact of the project, because Buckeye Wind says it will invest about $400 million and create 175 jobs during construction and 12 permanent jobs.

"But I understand others' concerns," she said. "If I had to look at 30 of these turbines in my backyard, I'm not so certain I would like that."

Julie Johnson considers herself in that "backyard," so she is part of a group pushing for better regulation of wind energy. She is concerned that the state will allow the turbines too close to homes.

She said local sentiment remains strongly against the project and that people have concerns about safety, noise and potential environmental impact.

Some residents thought that the energy produced would be used locally, and that their electricity rates would be cheaper, she said. Those people now understand that isn't the case.

"In short, the failure of the developer to be upfront with the community from the outset has come home to roost," she said.

Wind energy on tap

The Ohio Power Siting Board is responsible for reviewing and approving plans for the construction of new energy facilities in Ohio. Four applications for large-scale wind farms are pending before the board:

• JW Great Lakes Wind plans 19 to 27 turbines across 3,400 acres in Hardin County. The application was filed Aug. 14. Construction is planned for late 2010.

• Hardin Wind Energy, an affiliate of Invenergy, plans 200 turbines across 20,000 acres of leased land in Hardin County. The application was filed July 10. Construction could begin in late 2010.

• Black Fork Wind has leased 25,000 acres in Richland and Crawford counties with plans for 112 wind turbines. Construction could begin in July.

• Buckeye Wind, a subsidiary of EverPower Wind Holdings, filed application April 24 for 70 turbines in Champaign County. Work could begin next summer.

To view all the applications, visit www.opsb.ohio.gov.

Source: Ohio Power Siting Board applications