LEEDCo, Four Counties Sign Revenue-Sharing Agreement For Offshore Wind Project

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Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo), the private corporation spearheading the development of a Lake Erie wind farm, and four regional counties – Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Lake and Lorain – have signed a revenue-sharing agreement that will give each county a percentage of income generated by the annual submerged-land lease payment.Â

The boundaries for each of the four counties extend into Lake Erie. LEEDCo's proposal includes a five-turbine, 20 MW wind farm in Lake Erie.

Earlier this year, LEEDCo secured a submerged-land lease option from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the regulating authority of the Lake Erie waters. The option designates nine square miles off the shores of downtown Cleveland.


Once the submerged-land lease is signed, LEEDCo will make annual payments to the state of Ohio, totaling approximately $11,000 per turbine. The state will return half of the revenue to the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, which will keep 40%. The port authority is responsible for redistributing the remaining 60% according to the revenue-sharing formula evenly divided among Ashtabula, Lake and Lorain counties.Â

Upon completion of a five-year period, LEEDCo's allocation committee – which includes members from each county – will review the formula and determine future agreements. The agreement is only bound to the initial project scheduled for Cuyahoga County's jurisdictional waters.

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