The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) has approved agreements authorizing two wind power projects.
JW Great Lakes Wind LLC (JWGL) has been given permission to construct up to 27 wind turbines in Hardin County. The wind farm will have a generation capacity of approximately 48 MW.
In February, OPSB staff and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation filed an agreement recommending the application for approval, subject to certain conditions. The agreement detailed 55 recommended conditions intended to mitigate the environmental and social impacts of the project.
These conditions include repairing possible damage to any roads caused by construction activity, providing the OPSB data pertaining to actual shadow flicker exposure. Any turbine creating in excess of 30 hours of shadow flicker will be subject to certain mitigation measures, and JGWL must decommission the facility, or individual turbines, at its own expense.
JGWL anticipates beginning construction this year and beginning commercial operation in mid-2011. The construction phase is expected to provide between 50 and 100 temporary construction jobs and three to five full-time maintenance staff. The project will also include a 69 kV overhead transmission line that will connect to American Electric Power's substation in Dunkirk.
The OPSB also approved an agreement authorizing Hardin Wind Energy LLC to construct up to 200 wind turbines, also to be located in Hardin County. The facility will have a generation capacity of approximately 300 MW.
In January, Hardin, OPSB staff and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation filed an agreement resolving outstanding issues in the case. The agreement recommends the application for approval, subject to certain conditions.
The construction process, which is expected to begin in the middle of this year, will consist of two phases. Depending on the turbine model Hardin chooses, the initial phase will consist of up to 157 turbines, and the second phase will comprise up to 47 turbines. The project also includes a transformer substation, interconnection substation, underground electric collection system and nearly 30 miles of access roads to support the facility.
SOURCE: The Ohio Power Siting Board
