By Jamie Barrie I t looks like the U.S. offshore wind farm in the U.S. will double soon. They will not be anywhere near the ocean, but heading for the Great Lakes as the Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo), which is a private nonprofit economic development corporation represent- ing Northern Ohio’s public interests in offshore wind that was founded in 2009. LEEDCo expects to finalize a deal by year end with Fred.Olsen Renewables AS to build a 20.7 megawatt wind project in Lake Erie, off the Ohio coast. LEEDCo is developing the $130 million USD project to demonstrate that offshore turbines are commercially viable in the Great Lakes, with the potential to generate 1,000 megawatts of wind energy by 2020.
being the Deepwater Wind LLC project near Block Island that was completed this year.
“Building offshore wind on the Great Lakes is our best opportunity to generate clean energy locally,” LeedCo President, Lorry Wagner said in a recent interview at the American Wind Energy Association Offshore Windpower conference in Warwick, Rhode Island. The project is a huge announcement as governments look to move from our oil and coal based energy products. The project will received a $40 million USD grant from the U.S. Energy Department. Norway-based Fred.Olsen Renewables AS will build, maintain and eventually own the project. Also as part of the deal, Cleveland Public Power has agreed to buy two-thirds of the electricity and LeedCo is negotiating to sell the remainder to other companies.
LEEDCo looks to start construction in early 2018 and will make it the second U.S. offshore wind farm with the first
25
NOVEMBER 2016 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker