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Wind energy gaining acclaim |
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Monday, 26 July 2010 |
By JENNIFER TANGEMAN
Staff Writer
Wind energy is more and more becoming a solution for the Buckeye State and the Wapakoneta region in particular.
Jereme Kent, a project developer for the wind energy company, One Energy, said the business has a handful of projects underway in Ohio right now. Two of those projects are in the area, in Wapakoneta and Spencerville.
“The state has done a very good job of putting the right incentives in place to facilitate wind energy in Ohio,” Kent said. “Having worked all around the country, we’ve seen that once people understand what’s going on, and can find the right contractor they know and trust, it (wind energy) takes off.”
Kent explained that Ohio’s laws allow the retail user of electricity to offset their electric bill with green energy. Many states have a capacity, and limit retailers to a certain size turbine, but Ohio has no limit.
“It was done on purpose that way by the state Legislature, because Ohio, on a strictly wind-basis, doesn’t have the wind to make turbines cost-effective,” Kent said.
But with the incentives and with 40 to 50 percent of costs possibly covered by green energy grants, Ohio becomes a more attractive location to utilize wind energy.
Spencerville Local School District officials recently signed on for One Energy to help offset long-term electric bills with a 750- or 900-kilowatt wind tower.
“They will be protecting themselves from future inflation in electricity prices and they will free up General Fund money,” the project developer said.
The nearly $2-million project has received preliminary approval from the Spencerville Board of Education.
Kent and his business partner, Wapakoneta resident Jeremy Sargent, hosted a community meeting in Spencerville in early June where they explained the potential benefits of the project.
He said the school can expect to save more than $1 million in electricity costs during the course of the next 20 years. That price estimate includes a zero percent inflation for electricity costs.
“The price of electricity is going up,” Kent said. “Everybody knows that, but we can’t predict by how much and when.”
If electricity costs would increase by 2.5 percent each year for 20 years, the school district would save more than $1.7 million.
Spencerville Schools should save between $12,000 and $16,000 per year during their lease and long-term savings once the turbine is paid for would be on the order of $115,000 to $120,000 each year.
Currently, it costs about $120,000 to $150,000 each year for electricity for a school of comparable size.
Kent said the company also is completing a smaller project in Wapakoneta. While he could not give all of the details, he said a 20-kilowatt turbine is being installed for a farmer on a private residence.
Energy One is also completing wind energy projects for the school district in London and another in Preble County.
Officials of the Minnesota-based company are looking to locate a permanent office in Wapakoneta. Currently, local operations are handled from Sargent’s residence.
Kent said the men have looked at three or four different office locations in Wapakoneta and hope to open a local office by early August.
Once people in the area become more educated on the process, Kent said he believes the energy alternative will become more popular.
“It’s complicated to go through the process, with zoning, construction, maintenance, it can become daunting,” Kent said. “But we’ve been able to do it all in one house. By being a one-stop shop solution, all of the sudden, it’s not complicated but rather just a financial decision.”
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 28 July 2010 )
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