The Ohio Power Siting Board has rescheduled dates for hearings on the proposed Buckeye Wind Project, as requested by parent company Everpower Renewables after a July 31 OPSB order that required Everpower to file additional financial data, projected population estimates and ecological impact studies as part of the application to install a power-generating facility with 70 turbines scattered over approximately 9,000 acres in Champaign County.
The Ohio Power Siting Board has rescheduled dates for hearings on the proposed Buckeye Wind Project, as requested by parent company Everpower Renewables after a July 31 OPSB order that required Everpower to file additional financial data, projected population estimates and ecological impact studies as part of the application to install a power-generating facility with 70 turbines scattered over approximately 9,000 acres in Champaign County.
The Ohio Power Siting Board has rescheduled dates for hearings on the proposed Buckeye Wind Project, as requested by parent company Everpower Renewables after a July 31 OPSB order that required Everpower to file additional financial data, projected population estimates and ecological impact studies as part of the application to install a power-generating facility with 70 turbines scattered over approximately 9,000 acres in Champaign County.
The public hearing initially scheduled for Oct. 8 at Triad High School will now be held on Oct. 28 at 6 p.m., while the administrative hearing in Columbus was moved from Oct. 15 to Oct. 27 at 10 a.m.
Written and oral comments will be accepted from anyone at the public hearing, while the …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]The Ohio Power Siting Board has rescheduled dates for hearings on the proposed Buckeye Wind Project, as requested by parent company Everpower Renewables after a July 31 OPSB order that required Everpower to file additional financial data, projected population estimates and ecological impact studies as part of the application to install a power-generating facility with 70 turbines scattered over approximately 9,000 acres in Champaign County.
The public hearing initially scheduled for Oct. 8 at Triad High School will now be held on Oct. 28 at 6 p.m., while the administrative hearing in Columbus was moved from Oct. 15 to Oct. 27 at 10 a.m.
Written and oral comments will be accepted from anyone at the public hearing, while the administrative hearing at the Public Utilities Commission offices will be more formal, with testimony from Buckeye Wind representatives along with parties that have been granted "intervenor" status by the OPSB. To date, that designation includes members of the Union Neighbors United group, the Champaign County Commissioners, the Urbana Country Club, the Union Township Trustees and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
On Sept. 1, the board issued a deadline of Sept. 11 for Everpower to publish public notice of both meetings and declared that petitions to intervene in the adjudicatory hearing would be accepted up to 30 days from the deadline, or later if good cause is shown. Petitions should be addressed to the OPSB, 180 E. Broad St., Columbus, Ohio 43215-3793, and cite the Buckeye Wind case number, 08-0666-EL-BGN.
Mike Pullins, a Union Township resident employed as Everpower's community liaison, said in mid-August that local residents were able to get a preview of information during the Champaign County Fair that will be available at the Triad meeting. Everpower's information booth featured maps for the proposed turbine sites as well as visual simulations of the effects on the landscape after turbine installation on privately-leased sites in Goshen, Rush, Salem, Union, Urbana and Wayne townships.
The Buckeye Wind application, filed April 24, is the first for a commercial-scale wind energy generation facility in the state. On June 23, the OPSB notified Buckeye Wind that its application for the project was "sufficiently complete" to allow the OPSB staff to commence review and investigation of the application. Since then, three other wind developers have filed plans with OPSB to build facilities in Hardin, Crawford and Richland counties.
Everpower, which was founded in 2002, was acquired by the British-based capital investment outfit Terra Firma for $350 million last month, according to the Wall Street Journal. In addition to the Buckeye Wind Farm, Everpower wind projects in development include two proposed facilities in New York and three in Oregon. To date, Everpower has one operational installation located in Pennsylvania.
According to an Everpower press release issued Aug. 28, the Buckeye Wind project is expected to bring a combined investment to Ohio approaching $400 million and generate 175 jobs during construction and 12 permanent jobs.