Reform to Ohio wind farm law proposed in a cornfield while turbines go up [View all]

DUNKIRK, Ohio -- State Sen. Cliff Hite has gone back to Ohio roots to promote his "compromise" bill loosening restrictions on wind farm development.

Hite, a Republican from Findlay, unveiled his proposed Senate Bill 188 in the middle of the muddy Hardin County cornfield where Houston-based EDP Renewables is building a 30-turbine wind farm, some 65 miles south of Toledo.

Reachable only by rural county roads, the 66-megawatt wind farm has scattered its 2.2-megawatt Colorado-made Vestas turbines over 7,000 acres of corn and soybeans, but will permanently remove only 22 acres from crop production. Total cost of the project is about $100 million.

EDP Project Manager Amy Kurt said the company expects the wind farm to be operational by the end of the year, generating not only electricity but an estimated $6,000 annually to local schools.

Read more: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2017/09/reform_to_ohio_wind_farm_law_p.html