Six Icebreaker wind turbines to be placed in Lake Erie were approved by the Ohio Power Siting Board; however, 33 conditions were attached. Any could jeopardize the $126 million project, which could be the “first freshwater offshore wind farm in North America” according to cleveland.com.
One condition included says the turbines will not be able to run at night between March 1 and November 1, in order to reduce the risk of harm to birds and bats. It also requires LEEDCo., the company in charge of the project, and Fred Olsen Renewables, a company out of Norway LEDCo. partnered with, to use radars to create a plan to reduce bird and bat collisions.
A U.S. Department of Energy grant totaling $40 million was given to the project, and last year the department, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, signed a 180-page assessment that said the pilot project would not impact the environment of the lake. However, objections from the Lake Eriemarine Trades Association, the Lake Erie Foundation and the Black Swamp Bird Observatory say the project doesn’t look at the effects and needs further inspection.
To learn more about the debate regarding the project, visit cleveland.com/news/2020/05/lake-erie-wind-turbines-approved-but-cant-operate-at-night-which-could-sink-project.html.
