Blowin' in the wind... through Columbus; future of current bill key to area construction project

A bill currently moving through the Ohio state legislature is a key factor in whether a wind farm proposed for construction in Paulding and Van Wert counties moves forward.

Senate Bill 232 would designate annual payments in lieu of taxes of up to $7,000 per megawatt for energy developed through wind and solar projects. Currently, wind and solar facilities are taxed in Ohio as tangible personal property at rates as high as $40,000 per megawatt, according to industry sources.

The American Wind Energy Association lists the Illinois tax rate per megawatt of wind electricity at $10,600, Michigan at $6,000 and Pennsylvania at $5,000.

Senate Bill 232 passed the senate's energy and public utilities committee Wednesday and could be voted on by the full senate next week. The bill would then move on to the House of Representatives where it would be assigned to committee.

For Iberdrola Renewables, the wind development company planning to develop a 350 megawatt wind farm across portions of Paulding and Van Wert counties, passage of a new tax law is key to making the project a reality.

Iberdrola Renewables is the parent company of Heartland Wind Energy LLC. The firm has submitted an application to the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) in connection with the $670 million project, which would produce enough electricity each year to power more than 80,000 average Ohio homes, according to Iberdrola business developer Dan Litchfield.

"We are hopeful that the legislature will vote to move the bill forward," said Litchfield. "The bill would make Ohio more competitive with neighboring states."

Known as Blue Creek Wind Farm, Iberdrola's project involves construction of 159 wind turbines across 17,000 acres of land leased from area farmers, according to Litchfield.

The project covers ground in Tully, Union and Hoaglin townships in Van Wert County and Benton, Blue Creek and Latty townships in Paulding County. It is located in close proximity to a high-capacity transmission power line owned by American Electric Power-Ohio, which provides an outlet to the power grid for generated electricity.

"We are hopeful that we will get certification from the state siting board by mid-August and start construction by September," Litchfield said, explaining that it would then take until 2012 to get all of the turbines calibrated to full generation capacity.

He said that state approval for the generation plan and reduction in Ohio's tax rates are key to getting the project off the ground.

The proposed turbines, which cost nearly $4 million each, stand at 328 feet tall at the hub height.