NEW WASHINGTON – The wind was not cooperating.

As representatives from Apex Clean Energy, Inc. attempted to set up screens and a video screen in preparation for a public meeting on the Honey Creek Wind Farm project on Wednesday night at the picnic shelter behind the New Washington American Legion Hall, the wind continued to blow. all is finished.

Their problem elicited more laughter than frustration.

“Don’t you hate it when it’s too windy to talk about wind?” Development Director Ben Yazman asked, laughing.

The breeze had calmed down as 14 members of the public, County Commissioners Tim Ley and Mike Schmid, and a police officer gathered to listen to Yazman’s presentation on the project.

North-central Ohio has strong wind resources to combine with the necessary electric transmission capacity, he explained. The north-central counties of Crawford and southern Seneca County have a lot of open farmland, making the area a good location for the large-scale power generation project.

“In our case, the design of the site only happens when you rent out the majority of your land and have completed almost all of your education, so that’s where we are now,†he said.

Planning should be completed this year

The developers have been working on rental contracts and doing site surveys for the project for several years. Apex purchased the project from Reserve Energy in 2018 as a set of leases and has continued to lease additional assets since then, he said. Honey Creek has an office in Bellevue.

The actual height, number and location of the wind turbines has not been determined, but Yazman said the project is expected to use around 75 turbines, each measuring 600 to 650 feet high (measured up to l end of the blade).

“Now the project is progressing. We hope to complete the lease this year, which will allow us to complete our studies, complete the site design, and then present our design as an application to the State of the Ohio, â€Yazman said. The Ohio Power Siting Board in charge of granting construction certificates for such projects.

Crawford County News:A wind farm could bring money, jobs and disruption

Crawford County News:Wind farm planners, opponents plan every briefing

No more than 90 days before the filing of the application, the company must organize an open house to share the designs of its project. The goal is to start construction in 2023 and be operational by the end of this year or 2024, he said. The plant will have a lifespan of 25 to 30 years.

“The state will ask us to post a dismantling bond, so that there is always money and a plan in place to dispose of them,” he said.

PILOT fees would amount to $ 3.42 million per year

Because the Crawford County Council of Commissioners voted in June 2011 to make the county an alternative energy zone, Honey Creek will not follow the state’s tax formula for alternative energy. Instead, it will pay a PILOT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes) fee of $ 9,000 per megawatt, rated capacity, for the life of the project.

That would mean the planned 360-megawatt plant would pay $ 3.24 million per year, Yazman said.

“And that money is distributed the same as your taxes – about half to the school, the village and the townships get some of it,” he said. But since PILOT fees are not tax revenues, they are not charged against other public funding for schools.

Crawford County News:Big screen promised for the bicentennial fireworks

Crawford County News:Criminal penalties include drug possession and domestic violence cases

Crawford County new:Over the garden fence: the muffins are coming!

The project provides participating farmers with a “drought-proof” source of income from relatively small plots of land, he said, and will create hundreds of temporary construction jobs and about a dozen jobs. full-time long-term jobs.

Other points highlighted by Yazman:

• Current state law requires approximately a quarter-mile setback from the boundary line of any non-participating property.

• Developers are required to limit shadow flicker, caused when a blade passes between a viewer and the sun, felt in surrounding homes. The state also sets standards for sound.

“It’s not just farmland here”

Following the presentation, Yazman, along with Drew Christensen, Public Engagement Manager for Apex, answered questions and listened to comments.

“The point is, it’s not just farmland here. It’s our homes; it’s where we live,†said one man, who later declined to give his name. “It’s not some kind of plant factory. This is where we live, and these are popping out of the ground everywhere, and they’re ruining the whole landscape.”

Several people questioned the effect on the property values ​​of neighboring houses, especially those of properties adjacent to a turbine. Yazman cited a 2013 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study that found no statistical impact.

“Would you like to live next to one?” several people asked.

Christensen said there was a wind turbine about half a mile from his family farm in Minnesota.

Charles Groth, whose property in southern Seneca County could be affected by several wind farm projects, challenged Yazman’s statement, reading a passage from the study and arguing that it indicated property values ​​would depreciate. more for homes within a mile of a turbine.

His wife, Kimberly Groth, pointed out that the PILOT fee amounts were established in 2011 and had not been adjusted since – and would remain in effect for the duration of the project, with no change for inflation.

“I can understand why you want them,†she said. “I think this is a good deal for you guys.”

Apex representatives later pointed out that the PILOT fees provide stable and reliable income to school districts, highlighting pipeline projects that have sought to lower their tax rates. PILOTE’s charges cannot be appealed, they said.

Another Apex meeting is scheduled for next week

Yazman acknowledged that the project had opponents, including a group of Seneca County residents.

The Seneca Wind Union, which describes itself as a group of neighbors in the two counties “concerned about the impact poorly sited wind turbines could have on our rural, residential and agricultural communities,” was scheduled to hold a meeting of information at 6:30 a.m. Thursday, also at the New Washington American Legion refuge.

“Which is good,†Yazman said. “We’re happy for them to have their voices heard and we’re happy to be here and answer questions – that’s what we want to do.”

Apex has another meeting scheduled for Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Lykens Township Fire Department, 2016 New Washington Road, Bloomville.

For more details, visit honeycreekwindpower.com, call 419-495-5256 or email info@honeycreekwindpower.com.

ggoble@gannett.com

419-521-7263