The $53,500 grant is being dispensed as part of the Value Added Agriculture Product Market Development Grant Program. The money will fund a feasibility study of wind energy including wind testing using altimeter.

The village of Elmore installed a 50-meter Meteorological Monitoring Tower Friday, Aug. 25, in conjunction with North Coast Wind & Power, LLC, on village property next to the Ohio Turnpike. The tower will monitor wind and weather conditions for a 12 to 18-month period to collect data for a feasibility study.

Bowling Green already has four wind turbines generating electricity - and has had them since 2003. Dozens more may be on the way, reports News 11's Dick Berry. The tall, twirling turbines are easy to spot along US 6 near the Wood County landfill. If everything falls into place, rows and rows of wind turbines could be in place by 2009. And Bowling Green could become "Blowing Green." Bowling Green and the company responsible for building the original four turbines are looking at adding another 33.

Construction of the first commercial-scale wind-powered electric generation facility in Ohio could begin as early as next summer in Champaign County if the Ohio Power Siting Board approves the proposal submitted in April by Buckeye Wind, LLC., a subsidiary of Everpower Wind Holdings Inc. which recently finished construction of its first project, located in Pennsylvania. As the first, the decisions made by officials likely will set precedent for future applications and preview the process for any possible future applications in Logan County.

EverPower Renewables Project Manager Mike Speerschneider answered questions of Wayne Township citizens at a meeting Wednesday night, addressing wind turbines and the possibility of turbines in Wayne Township. Speerschneider touched on issues concerning electricity, road damage, local labor and the health of citizens living near the turbines. He said the turbines will not generate a decrease in the cost of electricity for Wayne Township because there is "no way to definitively say what it's (turbines) going to do to the electric."

While state legislators have no real say in whether wind developers can come into the state, the three candidates for the 83rd House District seat offered their opinions Thursday on what should be done to help improve the situation. ..."The issue arises because of how township zoning works," said Mr. Burke, a pharmacy owner and former Marysville councilman. "That's its weakness and it's why a lot of big corporations pick townships rather than municipalities to do business with. I think the state needs to help townships fill in the gaps. "Working with large developers to design and review plans is not the forte of township officials," he said. "All across the state, it's costing money and headaches and the state needs to aid townships in those kinds of issues."

The Champaign County Commissioners voted to support state and local wind energy projects Tuesday. The commissioners unanimously passed a resolution backing renewable energy development in the state and urging Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland to set a requirement for 20 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2025.

Champaign County officials began phase one of a proposed $30 million project to supply residents an alternative energy source. Everpower Renewables, a New York-based developer of utility grade wind projects, wants to construct at least ten 300-foot wind turbines beginning at Yankee Hill Road traveling north about 20 to 30 miles toward Mingo.

URBANA - A Union Township resident addressed the Champaign County commissioners Tuesday with his concerns about the possibility of wind turbines coming to the area. Bob McConnell, of the 4000 block of East U.S. Route 36, urged the commissioners to create a committee to gather information about the wind towers and plan properly for the proposed construction in the county.

A recommendation to accept a citizen-initiated wind turbine zoning amendment carried Monday with Rushcreek Township Trustee Marlyn Kelly voting contrary to his fellow trustees. Mr. Kelly opposed a motion by Gary Downing to reject the Rushcreek Township Zoning Commission recommendation to adopt the amendment. "Gary's (Downing) looking for a yes vote?" Mr. Kelly asked. "Well then, I vote no. "We've got five people who voted 5-0 in support of the amendment and I respect their vote." The vote came after two hours of public comment. About 60 people attended the meeting.

The Logan-Union-Champaign Region Planning Commission - based in East Liberty - reviewed the proposal, which had been passed on from the Union Township Zoning Commission last week for review. The LUC recommended the township zoning commission deny the proposal by Union Neighbors United - the group of township residents opposed to the turbines without more regulations.

Union Township resident Bob McConnell and attorney Lauren Ross asked the Champaign County Commissioners to consider forming a committee to focus on issues related to the proposed wind turbine installations in Union and Wayne townships during the commissioners' regular meeting Tuesday. "This has come up as a concern for many of us," said McConnell, a member of Union Neighbors United, a group which has opposed the location of proposed turbines and claims they will hurt property values and negatively impact the landscape.

If early renderings are any indication, Cuyahoga County's new administration building will be a glassy, multistory affair symbolic of commissioners' desires to project an eco-friendly, transparent image....... The wings meet a glassy, 10-story office building, highlighted by corner atriums. Plans showed roof-top gardens and wind turbines atop the office building.

As controversy continues to swirl around proposals to erect wind turbines in the county, a committee was formed recently to review and draft zoning proposals to regulate them. Officials from the Logan County Prosecutor's Office and the Logan-Union-Champaign Regional Planning Commission named a 10-member committee to determine what information should be included in any zoning regulations enacted by the townships in Logan County, Prosecutor Gerald Heaton said Thursday. By state law, the prosecutor is the legal counsel for the townships, and currently, he said, there are no regulations in place concerning wind turbines. "The whole purpose of this group is to get information," the prosecutor said, "sufficient information so the townships can make an educated determination as to what they want to include in their zoning."

The Jefferson Township Board of Zoning Appeals voted 4-1 Tuesday to make corrections to its original approval of Roger Brown's request for a conditional use permit to build a 197-foot-tall meteorological tower on property he owns along State Route 540. ...Zoning regulations allow conditional use permits for projects that can be classified as public service facilities ...but do not specifically mention turbines or meteorological towers.

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.

A few landowners in Logan County might have the opportunity to lead the way in Ohio with the largest wind power operation in the state if the plans of a few green-energy companies prosper on properties in Jefferson, Monroe and Rushcreek townships. However, the proposed construction of up to 120 wind turbines in as soon as a year, each up to 550 feet tall, might be a bad move the community will have to live with for a long time, opponents say. Nearly 100 local residents met Tuesday afternoon at Marmon Valley Farm to discuss the implications of turning Logan County into what would fast become the largest wind power community in the state, while several posed the question: Are developers and landowners moving too quick with a decision that will affect the local community and disturb Logan County’s historic and scenic landscape for generations to come? After extensive research, Tom Stacy of Zanesfield, and others, believe so. “This is a way to shelter big company profits from taxes,” Mr. Stacy said. “It’s a symbol; it’s a monument that we’re doing something to conserve energy. The only thing is: It’s not conserving energy. They want to put up at least 100 to 120 of these things soon and it’s going to devastate the property values and scenery around them for miles.”

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.

Jefferson Township voters may get a say on how they feel about the township’s current wind turbine zoning ordinance if a Friday decision of the Logan County Election Board withstands any other legal challenges. Following a three-hour public hearing, Election Board Chairwoman Ann Beck read a two-page written decision in which the board rejected a challenge by township landowners to the issue being placed on the March 4 ballot. “I think they found the only way they could,” township resident and wind turbine opponent Keith Nason said. “Now the voters will get to have their say as they should.”

UNION TWP., Champaign County — County officials have begun the first phase of a proposed $30 million project to supply residents an alternative energy source. Everpower Renewables, a New York-based developer of utility-grade wind projects, wants to construct at least 10 300-foot wind turbines beginning at Yankee Hill Road traveling north about 20 to 30 miles toward Mingo. The company applied for and was granted a building permit to install a test tower that will sit near North Mutual Road to measure wind velocity, said Jene Gaver, building regulations chief inspector. The Union Twp. zoning commission will gather public input before drafting an agreement with the company.