In July 2006, the Cuyahoga County Commissioners formed an Energy Task Force to promote advanced energy and related economic development in Northeast Ohio. Its first job was to explore whether the strong winds on Lake Erie could feasibly generate electricity.

The county's report (6.6 MB pdf), released Feb. 8, 2007, calls for a detailed study to determine if it's feasible to build wind turbines on the lake and a R&D center to help make it happen. The center could make Northeast Ohio a hub for a fresh water wind turbine industry, and spin off the technology required to build the world's first fresh water wind farm.

The plan calls for up to 10 wind turbines on Lake Erie as a demonstration project. The turbines would stand some 300 feet above the water and produce 20 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 6,000 homes. Erecting turbines and hooking them to the electric-power grid is estimated at $40 million, The Plain Dealer reports.

Task Force Chairman Bill Mason, who is also the County Prosecutor, says the next step in this ambitious plan is to search the globe for the best person to spearhead a full environmental and technology study, WCPN reports

Bill Mason: We're going to ask this project manager to look at the feasibility, study the ecology, all the issues that are faced with putting something out on the lake. And come back to us in six or seven months and tell us where there are some impediments we haven't seen or if this is a go and give us a road map to how to finance it and how to put it together.

The county and a group of foundations are committing the $800,000 for the project manager and the study, the PD adds.

The study will address these issues:

• Investigate the impact on the environment, including birds, fish and wildlife;
• Survey community acceptance of the visual impact of the demonstration project;
• Assess the costs and availability of wind turbines for offshore application,
• Determine the engineering and design of foundations and installation approaches; and,
• Assess the technical needs of the wind manufacturing community, as well as the implied requirements for equipment, facilities and partners for the research center.

Wind power is a renewable resource which, combined with energy efficiency, can lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases causing global warming and deliver half of the world's energy needs by 2050, according to a 2007 report Tackling Climate Change in the U.S.

Resources
FAQs on Lake Erie wind project and R&D center

Updates

(from the Plain Dealer, 1-11-08) A two-year measure of wind on Lake Erie found plenty of energy for a wind-turbine farm. Results from the monitoring tower at Cleveland's water-intake crib - 3.5 miles off downtown Cleveland - showed:

• Average wind speed of 16.4 mph, 165 feet above water.
• Prevailing winds from the southwest. They were strongest in the fall and summer.
• During the day, wind speeds were slowest between 8 a.m. and noon, by a slight margin.
• Six wind turbines, each 300 feet tall, would generate enough electricity for 6,000 homes.