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| 6/26/2009 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Wind energy to become a reality in Hardin County
By Virginia Bandy
Ada Herald Editor
Wind energy is the wave of the future, and Hardin County is going to be on the cutting edge of the industry thanks to Invenergy, a clean and renewable energy company.
Invenergy has formed the Hardin County Wind Energy LLC in order to bring the Hardin County Wind Farm to fruition. As described by Vice President of Development Dave Groberg, Invenergy will be managing, developing, constructing and operating the turbines to produce wind energy. "Our main goal is to be an independent energy producer, not a utility," Groberg noted.
Tuesday evening, Invenergy invited members of the public to Henry's in Kenton to discuss the development of a 40,000 +acre wind farm in Hardin County.
With over 60 people in attendance, members of the Invenergy team described their plans and took questions from the crowd.
Nazre Adum, Project Director and Coordinator, has been in the business 20 years, and works out of the Washington, D.C. office. He touted the Hardin County Wind Farm as being the largest wind farm in the Midwest, and the first to seek permit under the new "Wind Rule" by the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB).
Last year, the Ohio legislature passed a bill that said a certain percentage of energy that was used by utility companies must be purchased from a clean energy source. Out of this percentage, a certain amount must be purchased within Ohio, thus the interest in developing wind farms.
Adum explained that the process began two years ago with research that measured the wind that blows through Hardin County. Three special MET towers were constructed to record wind direction, wind speed and temperature in Hardin County. Daily satellite downloads of data are sent to the home office and analyzed quarterly. One tower has a full year of data collected. Adum noted that several more towers will be needed to continue monitoring the wind. The towers also have bat detectors on them, required by the Department of Natural Resources to record the activity of bats around the towers.
Eric Miller, a developer for Invenergy, commented that "Wind direction is more important than speed because we need to know how to arrange the turbines."
This arrangement is the next step in the process since 120 farmers in six Hardin County Townships have agreed to lease over 23,000 acres to Invenergy for the 320 MW (mega watt) project. The placement of the wind turbines will depend on the highest concentration of wind, the proximity of other turbines and the location of residences (there is a 100' setback rule on a turbine). The arrangement could include two different sizes of turbines, a 1.5 MW or a 2.5 MW. "We're going to put in what makes sense," said Adum. "We have a good track record with the 1.5, have experienced operators and engineers on the 1.5...the 2.5 will be considered."
This arrangement was questioned by a member of the crowd, since some neighbors have signed with Invenergy while others have signed with another wind energy company. It was questioned how Invenergy would handle that situation and if some leases would be released if the land wasn't being used by the company.
The response by Groberg was that "many factors impact the progress of this project but we're confident that we have enough area and acreage signed up" to keep the needed distance between turbines, whether they belong to Invenergy or another company.
Adum added that participating landowners would still get compensated even if a turbine isn't placed on their property. "We need distance and setback," he said. So some leases would be maintained to secure adjacent land to turbines.
It was also questioned if leases from other companies would be purchased by Invenergy, and Adum responded that "We cannot legally approach landowners who have signed leases, the landowner has to initiate the conversation (with Invenergy)."
Adum explained that the next steps of the company include more signing of contracts with landowners; the continuation of wind measurements; studying the interconnectivity to the grid; and completing the turbine layout.
The interconnection was explained as easier because two electrical grid lines already run through the portion of Hardin County where the wind farm will be. The northern line is a 138 KV (kilo volt) and the southern is a 345 KV. Adum said Hardin County is a good place to connect to the grid because the company would not have to do upgrades beforehand. "It makes the project more viable," he said. There will be two substations built around the connection site.
Another ongoing process is acquiring the permit from the OPSB. Invenergy plans on filing the application by July 8 and the OPSB will have 60 days to make a determination. If approved, public hearings will be held in November or December of this year. The final decision of the board and issuance of the permit would come sometime between February and April of 2010. Once in place, construction could begin in the fourth quarter of 2010 and continue into 2011.
Adum likened the construction to an assembly line. First steps are the laying of foundations, roadways and burying cables. A massive crane is assembled to raise the turbines into place and that crane would be moved from one site to the next, raising one or two turbines per day.
Hardin County will surely benefit from many aspects of the wind farm development. Adum estimated the total cost of the project to be between $400 and $600 million dollars. Invenergy will be making payments to participating landowners and according to Adum, "will become the largest property tax payer in the community." The construction phase will produce many jobs in the county, and the supplies that will be purchased locally will add up to millions of dollars. Not only suppliers, but all retailers could benefit. Workers will be staying in local hotels, eating at local restaurants and shopping in local stores.
Although most questions at the public meeting were laced with skepticism and suspicion, local farmers like Todd Wyss are satisfied with the project.
"It's a win-win situation, it's earth-friendly, and only a short term inconvenience for farmers," Wyss noted. Wyss farms over 3,000 acres total, and has 800 acres south of McGuffey that are within the project area. One of the measuring towers are on Wyss' farmland as well. "It will create many jobs...they will have an office in Kenton, too," Wyss said.
Bringing the county money and putting Hardin County on the map for tourism are both important benefits to the wind farm. Invenergy's recurring theme is the clean and reliable source of wind as the new power source, and where the wind blows...is Hardin County.
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