The Ohio Power Siting Board has approved North America’s first-ever freshwater offshore wind farm, but with 33 conditions.
The $126 million Lake Erie project, called the Icebreaker wind project, will generate 20.7 megawatts of energy or enough to power 7,000 homes. It will be 8 to 10 miles off the Lake Erie shore and will be connected by an underwater cable to a Cleveland Public Power substation.
Among the conditions, the board made the decision the turbines must be shut down during nighttime hours.
“Today’s order is not an approval. A condition added by the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) may well be fatal to the entire project,” said David P. Karpinski, LEEDCo president. “We are stunned by the OPSB Order that, although they approved construction of Icebreaker Wind, added a significant condition that reneges on the agreement reached with OPSB Staff last May.”
LEEDCo emphasized that many parties concluded that Icebreaker will have no significa
