Seneca Wind, one of two commercial-scale wind farms planned southeast of the Toledo area, has been certified by the state of Ohio as a qualified energy project. ...an important step forward for a project.

General Ohio

Impact on People Ohio

“This is a significant milestone for Seneca Wind, which will bring revenue and economic activity to Seneca County and deliver clean energy throughout the region,” Gordon Gray, director of wind for sPower, stated in a release. “We are grateful to the state of Ohio for issuing this certification, and to the people of Seneca County for engaging with us throughout our process.”

General Ohio

The OPSB says it postponed the hearings in response to a request from Republic Wind LLC to suspend the procedural schedule until the company files an application to amend the project as it is currently proposed. 

General Ohio

The staff of the Ohio Power Siting Board has recommended that the six wind turbines the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo) has proposed building 10 miles offshore operate only during daylight hours for 10 months out of the year while experts determine whether technology designed to detect bird and bat collisions with the turbines is effective.  LEEDCo has tried without success to negotiate a compromise.  The issue and other issues regarding sophisticated radar systems are now headed into hearings that begin Sept. 24 in Columbus. 

Impact on Birds Impact on Bats Ohio

A pair of large-scale wind farms planned for rural Seneca County continue to drive a wedge into the community, as some townships have joined opponents seeking to block the developments, while the county stands formally behind the farms.

General Ohio

Venice Township residents Gail and Richard Miller addressed Attica Village Council during its Thursday night meeting. Mrs. Miller recited a letter of opposition to the proposed wind turbines in the vicinity but voiced her concern for another related problem not getting much attention.

General Ohio

Ice jams and bird and bat deaths will determine the answer

Offshore Wind USA Ohio

This project should be stayed unless or until it can assure minimal wildlife impacts based on the most rigorous science. The public should thoughtfully educate itself on the project before forming opinion. Icebreaker is the first small wave in a floodtide. Read the record, not just a “windustry” spin-doctor’s selective fantasizing.

Offshore Wind Ohio

This important legal challenge of the Ohio Power Siting Board decision tests whether the Board ignored state law and the conditions of its own certificate approving construction of the Black Fork wind energy facility when it granted a requested extension of the permit. A detailed description of the case is provided below and at the link appearing on this page. Oral arguments were heard on August 1, 2018 and can be watched at this link. Black Fork is proposed as a 91-turbine facility with a maximum capacity of 200 megawatts. The permit was initially issued in 2012.

Legal Ohio

If you sign a “Good Neighbor” agreement, a turbine will be located closer to your home and property line than what the current state law allows. Because your home and property will physically be closer to the turbine, you will be more directly exposed to the well-documented negative side effects of wind turbines. 

General Ohio

The tumultuous wind farm debate, as well as Seneca County Commissioner’s role in it, remained the public’s key concern during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled commissioner’s meeting.

General Ohio

“But our highest priority should be to protect our natural resource,” says LEMTA chairman Tom Mack in a statement. “Lake Erie has a unique frontage for many Ohio communities with resorts, parks, marinas, campgrounds, beaches and more. The pure vista of its unbroken horizon attracts tourists from around the world and contributes billions of dollars to our Ohio economy. Having hundreds of 500-foot spinning towers destroying that picture should make any question of offshore wind farms in Lake Erie moot.”

Impact on Wildlife Impact on People Ohio

Bird conservation groups will be raising concerns about the impact on birds from Lake Erie's first proposed offshore wind project, “Icebreaker,” tomorrow at a public hearing before the Cleveland City Council. Black Swamp Bird Observatory and American Bird Conservancy found numerous problems with the project's environmental assessment (EA); the inadequacy of the EA's science and process will be the basis for the joint testimony to be submitted by BSBO's Don Bauman and Mark Shieldcastle.

General Ohio

General Ohio

This is the first Lake Erie wind turbine project that has been recommended for approval by the OPSB. They have placed some “conditions” on their approval of the project, but if those conditions are met with studies that lack transparency, or are built on flimsy science, or by cherry-picking numbers and portions of studies that push a favorable breeze on this wind farm, we all lose.

Impact on Wildlife Impact on Birds Ohio

The Ohio Power Siting Board has recommended conditional approval of the $126 million Icebreaker six-turbine wind turbine project proposed by the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. 8 to 10 miles northwest of downtown. But the staff has included more than 34 conditions. The six-turbine wind farm is expected to look similar to this offshore wind farm near Block Island in the Atlantic Ocean.

Impact on Birds Impact on Bats Offshore Wind Ohio

“Based on my continued engagement with the constituents, I have come to the conclusion that no changes should be made to Ohio’s current wind turbine setbacks. Under current law, the setbacks can be reduced if ‘good neighbor’ waivers are reached with affected landowners in the project footprint. Property rights are key and landowners on both sides of this issue have valid arguments. In pursuit of a compromise, it is unfair for one set of landowners to completely win this debate, and property rights should never be subject to a vote.”

Safety Ohio

Ohio lawmakers are considering a bill that would relax the state’s strict wind turbine setbacks rules but again weaken renewable and energy efficiency standards.

Energy Policy Ohio

Chairman Balderson, Vice Chairman Jordan, Ranking Member O’Brien and members of the Committee; my name is Mike Kerschner and I have been a commissioner in Seneca County, Ohio since January 2015. Wind Farm projects were not even a matter of discussion at that time. They have since become a very key issue for the citizens of my county.

Impact on Landscape Impact on People Ohio