A company that may build wind turbines in Hancock County's Cass Township says it would be three to five years before any "good, clean" electricity is produced. Paul Copleman, communications manager with Iberdrola USA, a Spain-based company with offices in the Philadelphia, Pa., area, said Friday the company is in the early stages of evaluating land and measuring wind capacity in the area.

The visual study of the proposed wind turbine at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds is finished, and the Planning Commission approved the plans Wednesday. The vote was 5 to 2, with members Anthony Crea and Carol Herman dissenting. The county received a $1 million grant to erect the 600-kilowatt turbine, which will generate electricity for the fairgrounds, but still has to receive approval from City Council.

The Ohio Power Siting Board has scheduled a meeting March 22 and the agenda includes consideration of the application by Buckeye Wind to site 70 turbines in the eastern half of Champaign County. The agenda published Friday at www.opsb.ohio.gov claims the project is sited solely in Union Township, rather than Union, Urbana, Rush, Salem, Goshen and Wayne townships.

The Champaign County Building Regulations Department rejected three applications for meteorological tower construction by Buckeye Wind, citing a need for additional information for each proposed tower. The permit applications were submitted on Feb. 19 and Building Regulations Director Jene Gaver filed the denials on Feb. 25 after review of each for completeness.

Union Twp. may not have much control over the industrial-scale wind turbines that would dot the landscape if a proposal by Everpower Renewables is approved by state officials this year. But local officials are planning to meet this week to discuss some basic guidelines for smaller, residential turbines in the township.

proposal to build 70 wind turbines in Champaign County moved forward this week, as attorneys representing several entities made their final arguments concerning the Buckeye Wind Project. The briefs filed Monday, Feb. 1, included arguments from several entities involved in the case.

City Council continues to ask questions about the proposed wind turbine at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. It was expected to vote Tuesday to accept the proposal of CBLH Design, Inc. to provide a visual analysis of the application of the Cuyahoga County Commissioners and the fair board for the 280-foot turbine, slated for the parking lot off Bagley Road. The study will cost $5,600 and take five to six weeks to complete.

Initial briefs were filed this week as attorneys from several entities made their arguments on a proposed wind project that may eventually dot Champaign County with wind turbines. Initial arguments were filed Wednesday, Jan. 20, in the case which is being reviewed by the Ohio Power Siting Board.

Trucks carrying 400 to 600 tons will be rolling through northwest Richland County this summer to facilitate the construction of wind turbines. Commissioners took steps Tuesday to be paid for any residual road damage. The heavy loads, including a 600-ton crane, must be hauled over asphalt streets that are graded for less than a 10th of that weight.

The state is aggressively pursuing wind as a new source of energy, jobs and economic development. Wind developers, including some from Europe, have big plans for Ohio - on land and in Lake Erie. Six sprawling, large-scale wind farms with up to 436 towering turbines - and a price tag in excess of $2 billion - are proposed across western Ohio.

The landscape around Van Wert and Paulding counties is set for a change thanks to several companies eager to turn wind blowing across the flat terrain into electricity to power thousands of homes.

Bowling Green, which led Ohio's foray into wind power in the fall of 2003, is in line for as many as six more commercial-sized turbines to generate electricity from area breezes. Under a plan being considered tonight by Bowling Green's Board of Public Utilities, AMP-Ohio would install six more wind turbines in Wood County. That, in addition to the four that have been in operation at the county landfill.

A proposed plan to install about 70 wind turbines throughout Champaign County has drawn serious debate. However, the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) will have plenty of options when making its final decision. ...The board could approve or reject the project as a whole. But it can also approve some proposed turbines while preventing others from being built.

They took to the sidewalks of downtown Urbana Saturday, Dec. 5, to protest the Buckeye Wind Project, a plan by the New York company Everpower to harness the county's wind for electricity. If approved, it would be the first large-scale wind site in Ohio. Holding signs that declared "No wind turbines," a handful of concerned residents on Saturday had a number of reasons for their opposition.

Lorain County officials will learn more about the future of alternative energy in northern Ohio. The Lorain County Growth Partnership today will host leaders of the Great Lakes Energy Development Task Force to explain a study that examined the feasibility of using offshore wind turbines. The task force also plans to install a 20-megawatt wind turbine in Lake Erie.

After two weeks of testimony, the proposed Buckeye Wind Project crept closer to a decision by the Ohio Power Siting Board this week. But the project is still likely a long way from approval. If approved, the project would allow Everpower Renewables to build about 70 wind turbines in a section of Champaign County that spans about 9,000 acres and six townships. ...Although testimony spanned about two weeks, a spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio said it could still be months before a final conclusion is reached in the case.