Great Lakes Wind Energy News

A LEEDCo official has informed 'The News-Herald' that more than 3,000 people in Northeast Ohio so far have signed up to pledge to buy a portion of their future electricity needs from offshore wind power. LEEDCo has begun work on a five to nine turbine wind energy demonstration project in Lake Erie named "Icebreaker," which is slated to be completed in 2017. It would be the first freshwater offshore wind project in the nation. The Icebreaker project involves the installation of six 3-megawatt American-made Siemens wind turbines approximately 7 miles off the coast of downtown Cleveland in Lake Erie. Officials also have a 1,000 megawatt target in mind by 2020.

According to September 19 report from www.Vindy.com, a Youngstown company is at the forefront of a $100m plan to build the country’s first offshore wind farm on Lake Erie. Great Lakes Wind Energy, a Youngstown-based renewable energy company, will partner with Bechtel Corp. — the company that built the Hoover Dam — and Houston-based private-equity firm Cavallo Energy to build five wind turbines off the lake’s Cleveland coast. The demonstration project is the first step in a 10-year plan to build 200 turbines on the lake, giving a kick-start to the region’s renewable-energy industry. (Source: www.Vindy.com)