A major project that would dot Champaign County's landscape with wind turbines is moving slowly forward, with public hearings on the proposed sites scheduled for late October. The Buckeye Wind Project is undergoing a review process by the Ohio Power Siting Board. It would include building more than 70 wind turbines across six townships in Champaign County.

Adding 70 wind turbines to the landscape in Champaign County would be the first step toward energy independence, supporters say, but some critics argue the plan could disrupt quality of life. A company called Everpower wants to put the turbines in Union Township, located southeast of Urbana, 10TV's Kevin Landers reported on Tuesday.

North Perry Village voters might decide a proposed citizens referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot to forbid Village Council authorizing a contract or purchase exceeding $250,000 unless local voters approve the expense. ...Orosz said this year's issue revolves around Village Council spending $750,000 for land to join the Perry Joint Development District and agreeing on, but not yet spending an estimated $180,000 to $250,000 for land as a site for a proposed wind turbine.

Within the renewable energy debate is opportunity; the opportunity for communities to utilize their resources not only to address energy efficiency and environmental concerns, but also to stimulate business. According to Avon Lake Councilwoman Jennifer Fenderbosch, there might not be a better opportunity than in Avon Lake. She said she first considered the idea after attending meetings in Cleveland.

Wind turbines won't deface the property proposed for Eaton Corp.'s new headquarters in the Chagrin Highlands. City Council passed deed restrictions Monday, prohibiting the windmills on the site ...City Council is simply following the other property owners who have already taken similar action.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sekulic has a vision to put wind turbines in the lake. He already received the support from Lorain City Council and the Lorain Port Authority. But the ODNR is still developing a draft set of rules for the submerged land leases that would be necessary for wind energy operations in the lake, Watkins said.

The exact cause of a Perkins High School wind turbine's failure still isn't known, but officials hope to see all three spinning again this summer. Superintendent Jim Gunner met this week with representatives from Honeywell, ReDriven Power and Wilkes and Co. to discuss how to ensure the turbines are safe.

Energy service providers may soon set their sights on Lorain County as they look to plant wind farms across northern Ohio. Those providers have been installing wind turbines in the northwest part of the state for years but have steadily been moving east, according to Dale Arnold, director for energy services with the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.