The local Lake Erie marshes have long been recognized internationally as some of the best places to see a variety of birds, from migratory warblers to bald eagles. And more recently, developers have recognized the area as one of the best in the state for wind and view it as a prime spot to build turbines. ...Petrie encourages people to question wind projects in their area to make sure they are located in places that make the most sense.

Ohio lags far behind the rest of the Midwest -- and most of the country -- in wind power use. ...So why does Ohio have one wind farm -- the four turbines at the Wood County Landfill in Bowling Green -- instead of windmills all over the northern part of the state? "In the past, other states have offered better incentives," said Joe Woods, managing director of North Coast Wind and Power LLC in Port Clinton.

Ever since the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 221 in May of 2008, which requires all utility companies to purchase a portion of their energy from renewable sources, Ohio has been opened up as a new market for wind energy developers. Tuesday night at ONU, JW Great Lakes Wind LLC held a public meeting to discuss their development of a wind farm west of Dola.

Several Fairfield County townships are updating their zoning codes to regulate windmills ...A change in state law last year gave the Ohio Power Siting Board authority to approve large projects generating five megawatts of power or more. It also gave local zoning boards the responsibility to regulate small wind turbines producing fewer than five megawatts.

Riverstone, which has the world's largest renewable energy private equity fund, is committing $400 million to expand and support the new group's business. Beth O'Brien, spokeswoman for Pattern Energy, said that the purchase is a positive for efforts to bring wind turbines to Logan County. "All of it is great. It just means that we're infused with capital and we're really excited about it," she said.

Solar energy is much easier to determine. Solar isolation maps have been available for years. And solar is far less site-specific than wind. Scheutzow told committee members that the state offers grants for green energy, but it has stipulations. The system must prove it will be effective, efficient and installed by a certified contractor, of which Ohio's Department of Development has a list.

Does your company have anything to do with gears, bearings, brackets and couplings? Lubricating oil, epoxies or coatings? Generators, electronic parts, hydraulic pumps? Rebar and concrete? Casting, fabricating, machining? If so, the Ohio wind industry may need you.

Richland and Crawford County officials voiced concerns but offered support for a future wind farm during ...Hettich gave a presentation on the specifics of installing as many as 112 Vestas 1.8 megawatt wind turbines across Richland and Crawford Counties starting in the second half of 2010. The turbines would be located at various sites encompassing about 46,000 acres of land across the county's borderline.

Ohio's tax structure could blow holes in the state's plan to become a major wind energy center, a national wind trade group says. In a letter to Gov. Ted Strickland, the American Wind Energy Association argues that Ohio's tangible personal property tax on electric utilities could drive wind developers to neighboring states. Other Ohio businesses no longer pay tangible personal property taxes, which are imposed on a utility's equipment, such as generators and wires.

The speaker is set, the invitations are out. Now all Paul Hunter wants to know is, will the landowners show up? "There's a lot of potential," said Hunter, for a wind farm (in the sense of "farming" the wind) to be built in the eastern portion of Clinton County. The wind blows strong enough there for turbines to be commercially viable, he says.

The report downplays the dangers the windmills would pose to migrating songbirds, citing radar and studies that indicate nocturnal migration occurs mostly at altitudes above the height of wind turbines, thus fatality rates of migrating songbirds would be negligible. That would be wonderful, if true.

Everpower Wind Holdings Inc. of New York has asked the Ohio Power Siting Board for permits to construct 70 wind turbines in Champaign County, west of Columbus. Michael Speerschneider, Everpower's project development director, said the company has leases on 10,000 acres in order to expand and is seeking permission to flow up to 200 megawatts from the wind farm.

Attorneys representing Union Neighbors United filed a notice with the Ohio Power Siting Board on April 28, declaring the group's intent to oppose siting of Buckeye Wind farm project in Champaign County.

While the effort to attract manufacturers of giant wind turbines to Ohio continues, smaller, more affordable commercial wind generators are already selling. ...None of these small-scale turbines are intended for use on homes, but demand is growing among businesses, industry experts say.

Energy researchers say the winds blowing across Lake Erie can power wind turbines, but the project won't be cheap. A study released Friday showed it will cost $77 million to $92 million to build several turbines and a nearby wind research center to be run by Case Western Reserve University. Earlier estimates had put the price tag at about $60 million.

After reviewing model ordinances on wind turbine zoning from Wisconsin and Sandusky, Clyde city council members agreed that the city will need to be restrictive when they draw up their ordinance. Clyde City Manager Dan Weaver suggested council members make a motion at the next meeting to prepare an ordinance for the city planning commission to review.

Winds of change from the new economy may soon blow through NASA Plum Brook Station in Erie County. The NASA installation, located in Perkins and Oxford townships, is being advertised as a possible site for a wind farm that could cover about 2,000 acres.

Everpower Renewables is expected to proceed with a project that would build numerous wind turbines in the eastern part of Champaign County. ...The project, which has been in the stages since 2006, would include building more than 70 turbines across 6 townships in Champaign County, Speerschneider said. He said it would take about a year for the application to be reviewed by the state.

New blades will be installed on four turbines that were shut down temporarily at two locations in the area. A crew yesterday replaced the blades on the wind turbine at Turtle Plastics in Lorain. New blades also will be placed on three turbines at Perkins High School in Perkins Township. The four turbines were built by the same company and were shut down to ensure safety after the blades broke off a turbine at Perkins High School.

Northwood officials are mulling zoning regulations and an application process for wind turbines as more of the green-energy devices pop up on the east side. Under recommendations from the Northwood Planning Commission ...private wind turbines within city limits could not be taller than 40 feet from ground to blade tip.