A New York firm apparently is the only viable company remaining among three suitors interested in using publicly owned land on Conneaut's East Side for a wind turbine farm, City Council learned at Monday's work session. City administrators have heard nothing from two companies that months ago expressed interest in dozens of acres within the East Conneaut Industrial Park, council was told. As a result, the city will extend an invitation to BQ Energy to submit a proposal for the property, council agreed.

City officials are willing to pay to literally find out which way the wind is blowing. The City Council on Nov. 3 approved spending up to $16,000 as the city's share of a wind monitoring study with Grusenmeyer Land LLC. The funds, one-half the project cost, will be used to purchase, install, service and monitor an anemometer east of the city to test wind speed and direction.

The first company to make a pitch for a wind turbine farm on Conneaut's East Side was also the first to see its proposal rejected by City Council. By a 5-2 vote, council Monday night rejected a contract with SGR Site Associates of Willoughby that would have sold the company nearly 160 acres of land within the East Conneaut Industrial Park. The contract, tabled earlier this month for further study, was revived for a deciding vote at Monday's meeting. The measure would have given SGR a two-year option on the land and the chance to buy the property for $2,400 an acre.

Councilman-at-Large Jacob Chicatelli Monday night railed against peers reluctant to consider a contract with the first firm to publicly express interest in a wind turbine project on city-owned land near the state line. Chicatelli said the city is guaranteed to earn more than $300,000 through a pending contract with SGR Site Associates of Willoughby. Companies that want to lease the land, within the East Conneaut Industrial Park, can't promise a similar return, he said. Chicatelli said he will move to revive the SGR contract in time for next week's regular meeting.

A representative for an energy consulting firm urged City Council to stand firm when dealing with companies keen on erecting wind turbines on city-owned property. Patti Shore, of Eurus Energy America Corp., said the city has every right to expect a fair return on the use of its land, regardless of how the property is used in a wind-farm project. Shore's company usually works with energy companies on such projects but also could help Conneaut secure the best deal possible, she said.

In the three-way horse race to erect a wind turbine farm in the Conneaut area, BQ Energy may be leading at the turn. City Council members who attended a Thursday afternoon presentation by the wind energy company were blown away by what they heard. There's a good chance the firm will be invited to prepare a formal proposal, Council President James Jones said Friday. "We may be talking to them about a proposal," he said.

City Council will have further conversations with a New York-based developer interested in erecting wind turbines in the Conneaut area, members agreed Thursday afternoon. No proposals were broached during the hour-long meeting with BQ Energy, but council - impressed with the presentation - seemed open to more dialogue. ...BQ is the third and most recent developer to contact the city about creating a wind farm in the surrounding area. Thursday's meeting served as an informal introduction.

Lake Erie's wind, geology and habitat can accommodate towering wind turbines, new studies from a local energy task force say. Cuyahoga County officials this week rolled out the first three reports from their $1 million study of a grand vision -- erecting two to 10 wind turbines in the lake off Cleveland's shore. ...Turbine noise and vibration could disturb fish, the study said. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources also cautioned that federal rules might require security zones around the towers, diverting recreational fishing and boating.

Legislation that could sell nearly 160 acres of city-owned land for a possible wind farm was tabled at Monday's City Council meeting. Councilman-at-Large Chris Castrilla tabled the measure, in its third and final reading, after three members opposed amending the contract to include concessions recently agreed to by SGR Site Associates of Willoughby. The legislation would approve a two-year option agreement with SGR for the land, which abuts the state line. SGR representatives have said the city land is needed primarily to connect larger parcels to the north and south.

City-owned land sought for a proposed wind turbine farm is needed primarily to link two more important parcels and may not contain any turbines at all, City Council learned at Monday's work session. Ron Gainar of SGR Site Associates said wetlands concerns and other issues may prevent any of the gigantic turbines from sprouting on the 159 acres at stake within the East Conneaut Industrial Park. The placement of turbines on the proposed farm is important because some council members hoped the city could receive a percentage of the profit earned by turbines built on park property.

Whichever way the wind blows regarding Conneaut's two competing alternative energy proposals, the state stands ready to assist, officials said. Dueling wind turbine farm concepts pitched to City Council in recent months prompted Monday's informational meeting, featuring experts from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Development. The pair, joined by State Sen. Capri Cafaro and State Rep. Deborah Newcomb, updated City Council and a capacity audience on Ohio's burgeoning wind farm initiative.

City Council in Conneaut is becoming increasingly skeptical of a proposed agreement that could help transform a large chunk of publicly owned land into a wind turbine farm. Council had plenty of questions Tuesday night regarding an ordinance that would sell 159 acres of the East Conneaut Industrial Park to SGR Site Associates of Willoughby. The lengthy contract, introduced for action last month, apparently is headed for a major overhaul before council gives it serious consideration.

Edward Somppi, acting Conneaut city manager, asked council not to act on a proposed land option at the Aug. 25 council meeting. He said there is a lot of work to be done on the project. City leaders said they are seeking help from State Rep. Deborah Newcomb, D-Conneaut, and State Sen. Capri Cafaro, D-Hubbard, relating to the wind farm project. "We really haven't done our due diligence," Campbell and it takes us six months (to do the research) we should," he said.

Another suitor has surfaced for city-owned land that could create a wind turbine farm on Conneaut's east side. Property Investment Enterprises of Geneva hopes to meet next week to open discussions about a possible one-year purchase agreement for all the unoccupied land within the East Conneaut Industrial Park, said Michael White, a partner in the business. "(The park land) is a fantastic location," he said. "It has a deep water port, railways and highways. Everything is there. That site is ideal."

Utility-scale wind development is accelerating rapidly in northern Ohio, which experts say offers the greatest potential for large wind farms. At least 17 wind development companies are courting farmers and communities for potential wind farms in the region, says Dale Arnold, director of energy services for the Ohio Farm Bureau.

Interim City Manager Edward Somppi, at Monday's regular meeting, said he is trying to arrange a tour of a wind farm near Lowville, N.Y., a town of about 3,250 people northeast of Syracuse. Council is deciding whether to sell 159 acres within the publicly owned East Conneaut Industrial Park to SGR Site Associates of Willoughby. SGR believes the property, when combined with privately owned land north and south of the city parcel, could be home to as many as 50 gigantic wind turbines.

A proposed wind farm for lakefront property in Conneaut has the endorsement of federal, state and county officials. Some on City Council, however, aren't so sure. SGR Site Associates of Willoughby is in talks with city leaders on the sale of some 150 acres within the city-owned East Conneaut Industrial Park. SGR wants to add the property to other parcels it would then test for their wind-powered electric generating potential. If tests are positive, the land would be marketed to utility companies.

"Western Ohio is seeing a renewed interest in companies taking a look at areas of the state to do energy development. Some companies are large, some are medium-size and some are small but we have identified 17 different energy development companies talking with farmers and offering leasing agreements in Northwest Ohio in the last year," he said. The primary reason Western Ohio is of interest is because the two distribution systems on the eastern half of the nation pass through this region. Though the corridor doesn't have as much wind as other states, it has enough.

There's a battle brewing along the ridges of Western Ohio. Several wind energy companies might build hundreds of giant turbines to generate electricity. There's support -- but a lot of opposition. Along the glacial ridge above the tiny community of Zanesfield in Logan County, Page Mays built a comfortable home in an idyllic setting. "We went ahead and bought this property and built this house, figuring that we were going to see pretty much what we were going to see," Mays says. "But that ridge over there is where they want to put the wind turbines now. We didn't bargain for that." Touted as the ultimate in clean energy, hundreds of wind turbines may be erected on these hills which are among the highest in the state of Ohio. But the Mayes worry about the effect on their property values, their way of life and their health.

Additional wind energy proposed for the Bowling Green area last year will at best be delayed and at worst not occur at all. "It's really at a standstill right now," said Kevin Maynard, director of utilities for Bowling Green. "At this point there does not appear to be anything active on the project, but we certainly are looking at additional wind energy whether it is here in Bowling Green or elsewhere."