Ohio lags behind in wind power

Ohio lags far behind the rest of the Midwest -- and most of the country -- in wind power use.

There are four utility-grade wind turbines installed in Ohio. They can produce 7 megawatts per year, enough to power 1,400 to 1,750 homes annually, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Pennsylvania, however, has so many more windmills that it can create 52 times as much power and provide electricity to at least 71,800 more homes.

Yet Ohio, especially the Lake Erie coast, is ripe for wind power, according to U.S. Department of Energy data.

"The low-hanging fruit is in Ottawa County," said Steve Benko, a consultant for the Lake Erie Business Park who has independently researched wind power. "We want to encourage wind power in the state. We believe in wind power, and we want it to happen."

So why does Ohio have one wind farm -- the four turbines at the Wood County Landfill in Bowling Green -- instead of windmills all over the northern part of the state?

"In the past, other states have offered better incentives," said Joe Woods, managing director of North Coast Wind and Power LLC in Port Clinton.

Today, the state of Ohio and the federal stimulus package are providing more support to make windmills affordable, Woods said.

"Yes, we're behind, but we're going to be catching up pretty soon," said Kemp Jaycox, wind program manager for Green Energy Ohio, a non-profit agency that provides outreach and education on renewable energy and operates a consulting firm that does feasibility studies for small wind projects. "Wind is really going to start taking off."

GROWING IN USE

As heating bills and the threat of global warming have increased in recent years, so has the interest in wind power and other forms of alternative energy.

Texas, Iowa and California lead the country in the amount of wind power they can produce from their installed turbines, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Benko, who has attended national wind conferences during the past three years, said other states also have been more proactive about studying wind and collecting the data needed to attract wind developers. Without at least a year of data on wind speeds, developers cannot prove a turbine project is viable and therefore cannot get a loan, he said.

"The other places, they're making it happen," Benko said. "They're not just talking. We've got to start walking instead of talking."

The improvement corporations in Ottawa and Sandusky counties and the Lake Erie Business Park hope to bring companies that make turbine components to the area, he said.

"It ties directly to job creation," he said. "In my experience, it seems the manufacturers go where they can install (turbines)."

Currently, European manufacturers -- who make most of the world's turbines -- are locating plants in the United States, he said. Ohio needs pursue them, he said. With its heavy ties to the auto industry, Ohio could turn its manufacturing plants into turbine-component plants, he said.

Some area companies, like Fellhauer Mechanical Systems in Portage Township, already have started doing this. Fellhauer owner John Fellhauer is partnering with Oak Harbor businessman Curtis Stokes to open SUREnergy, a turbine manufacturing and installation company, at the business' Gill Road facility with some current Fellhauer workers.

"The window of opportunity is closing," said Benko, who compares the wind movement to the placement of the auto industry in Detroit. "If the auto industry had located in Texas, the Texas area would be known for auto manufacturing."

HELPING OHIO CATCH UP

Last year, state legislators passed a measure that will force investor-owned utilities to begin using more renewable forms of energy, Jaycox said.

By 2025, the four utilities -- FirstEnergy, American Electric Power, Duke Energy and Dayton Power and Light -- must include advanced and renewable energy sources, he said. That means 12.5 percent of their usage must come from renewable sources like wind and solar and another 12.5 percent from advanced sources like fuel cells, nuclear power and clean coal, he said.

The goal is to help stabilize utility rates, he said. Companies that develop these forms of energy also could locate in the state.

"It provides incentives for developers to work in Ohio," he said.

In the past two months, two developers have applied to the Ohio Power Siting Board for permits to build utility-scale wind farms -- one in Champaign and Logan counties in central Ohio and one in neighboring Hardin County, Jaycox said.

Businesses and homeowners also are taking advantage of state and federal incentives to build turbines. Businesses can get a grant from the Ohio Department of Development for up to $2,000, Jaycox said.

And residents who install them can get 30 percent back on the installed turbine cost and additional help from the ODOD.

Portage Township resident Keith Heileman, for example, put a 53-foot turbine on his property last month. The model he chose costs $15,000 to $16,000, said Daryl Stockburger, chief project consultant for North Coast Wind and Power LLC, which sold him the windmill.

With the federal break alone, Heileman could save $4,500 to $4,800. Heileman said he decided to install the turbine because his electric bills have been high.

"I'm thinking if I can use a little more electric heat instead of propane, it will pay for itself a lot quicker," he said. "The wind always blows out here."

Heileman and those who install similar turbines should see a return on their utility bills within 8-10 years, Stockburger said. The turbine is expected to last 20 years with no maintenance, he said.

"The more wind, the quicker the payback," he said. "For a long time, people have wanted to do something for the environment. (The incentives) bring the economics to a point where people are willing to invest more than they used to."

OHIO'S PILOT PROJECT

If and when Ohio starts putting up more utility-grade wind farms, Stockburger hopes the Wood County Landfill turbines will serve as the standard.

Stockburger, who retired from his post as Bowling Green director of utilities in 2005, helped the city install two turbines in 2003 and two more in 2004 at a cost of $10 million -- or $2.5 million for each turbine.

When the Bowling Green project was proposed, there was very little information on wind power in the state, he said. Sites near Lake Erie were considered to be the only feasible wind areas, but a study the city and Green Energy Ohio conducted proved inland areas would work, too, he said.

"There was a large interest in renewable energy," Stockburger said. "Some customers volunteered to pay more to get (turbines)."

Today, the four turbines make enough electricity to power 1,600 homes, he said. They are expected to last 30 years and be paid off by 2019, he said.

Stockburger said the city has not received any complaints, to his knowledge, about the turbines. When it erected the windmills, the city made sure the whooshing noise the turbines emit did not exceed the maximum decibel level allowed in residential areas, he said.

"Frankly, anyone who is concerned about noise coming from wind turbines, I encourage them to go to the turbine site at the Wood County landfill and hear them," he said.

Since Bowling Green farm was built, there has been a huge surge in interest among communities wanting to use wind power, said Tom Williams, North Coast Wind and Power managing director. The company has installed 15 to 20 smaller-scale windmills, like the one at the Heileman home, Stockburger said.

North Coast Wind and Power hopes to complete a utility-scale wind farm by 2010, but Williams declined to say where it would be located or provide any details.

"We definitely have seen a strong interest in Ohio farmland," he said. "They're leasing acreage to be able to put up a turbine."

Across Lake Erie, the Erie Shores Wind Farm in Port Burwell, Ont., uses a similar setup. Farmers lease sections of land in the middle of fields to the wind company for its 66 turbines.

Jim Wilgar, site consultant for AIM PowerGen Corp. that developed the Port Burwell wind farm, and Dennis Haggerty, wind farm manager, did not return messages seeking comment.

Stockburger said he has been proud to be a part of the wind movement.

'When the wind blows, it reduces that amount of power being purchased form use of fossil fuels," he said. "I appreciate the opportunity to do something that, hopefully, will benefit future generations, making the world a little better with cleaner air."