CLEVELAND - A Cleveland nonprofit development group racing to erect the first offshore wind turbine in the Great Lakes has reached an agreement with General Electric Co. to supply five turbines for a $100 million demonstration project in Lake Erie.
The Lake Erie Energy Development Corp., known as LEEDCo, and Gov. Ted Strickland are to announce the deal in Dallas today during the annual conference of the American Wind Energy Association.
The turbines would stand 300 feet above the lake and be clustered six miles or so off Cleveland's shore, northwest of the city's drinking water intake crib.
Each of the five colossal machines - at 225 tons apiece, the largest in the nation - would generate four megawatts.
The total generating capacity of 20 million watts, or 20 megawatts, is enough to power up to 16,000 homes, at least while the wind is blowing.
The plan is to have the turbines generating power at the end of 2012, said LEEDCo President Lorry Wagner.
"This is not just about making power, it's about creating jobs," Mr. Wagner said.
If the turbines are running by then, northern Ohio will have a chance to become the hub of an offshore wind power industry, LEEDCo and Lake Erie Energy Task Force officials say.
Both GE and LEEDCo see the project as the first step in standardizing and lowering the cost of building very large wind turbines in the Great Lakes.
Financing has to be worked out, but state and federal tax credits and possibly loans or grants would be needed.
The turbines would account for about half the project's costs. The rest would be in the purchase of the towers, foundations on the lake bottom, an underwater power line to the shore, and engineering expenses.
LEEDCo is interviewing finalists for a project developer this week and expects to select one within a month. Several of the contractors have global experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment