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Tuesday, 10 July 2007 |
Councilor to investigation feasibility of wind turbines for Wapakoneta
By WILLIAM LANEY
Managing Editor
A one-term Wapakoneta City councilor says he would like part of his legacy to be completing the groundwork for possible electric power generation from wind turbines.
City councilors, along with St. Marys City Council members, split the cost of an 18-month wind study by Green Energy Ohio. The study, which cost $10,000, tested wind speeds at three different heights on the communications tower at the Auglaize County Law Enforcement Center in Wapakoneta.
First Ward Councilor Terry Campbell said Green Energy Ohio officials completed the study, but city administrators are waiting for the final report. An earlier report indicates wind speeds recorded in Wapakoneta as comparable to the city of Bowling Green, where four wind turbines are converting wind into electric energy.
“I know the results of the wind study — if they can do it at Bowling Green, we can do it here,” Campbell said. “We did have a report three-quarters of the way through the study, and the report indicated we are right in line with Bowling Green.”
The four wind turbines at Bowling Green generate approximately 7.2 megawatts of energy per year. The United States currently generates 6,374 megawatts of power each year from wind turbines.
Campbell said he plans to investigate the possibility of building wind turbines near Wapakoneta and would like his successor to continue the endeavor if it is financially feasible.
“I have some brochures coming from Clipper Liberty wind turbines, the same company used by Bowling Green, except these are 2.5-megawatt units,” Campbell told the Wapakoneta Daily News. “I want, sometime later this fall, to have Safety-Service Director Rex Katterheinrich arrange a private meeting for councilors to take a look at their facility in Bowling Green and to talk to them about how they were able to organize financing.”
Four wind turbine units in Wapakoneta could generate 10 megawatts of electric power.
A Green Energy Ohio official explained wind turbine projects are becoming more economically feasible as technology improves and the cost for electricity increases. In 1980 it cost approximately 40 cents to generate a kilowatt hour of electricity, while today it can be generated for as little as 4 to 6 cents per kilowatt hour.
Campbell said he would also like Katterheinrich to talk with American Municipal Power-Ohio (AMP-Ohio) regarding financing and state officials regarding grants for a possible wind turbine project in west-central Ohio.
“I have not found too many negative things about harnessing the wind for electric power,” Campbell said Monday. “I would really like to see if between grants, AMP-Ohio and selling green energy, if we can’t find some support for such a project. I think this study is a good start.”
The 1st Ward councilor said an ideal location would be near the new water well field adjacent to U.S. 33 on or near the Schaub property. Bowling Green’s wind turbine field is adjacent to U.S. 6.
“I think this is something we really need to do,” Campbell said. “It may take longer than my current term, but I would like to get started on this so somebody in the future can run with this idea.” |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 11 July 2007 )
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