After much debate and a struggle for support and funding, it has finally been decided that Lake Erie will be home to the first wind turbines on the Great Lakes.
5 turbines are expected to go up by 2012. The turbines will produce 20 megawatts of power, enough to power about 16,000 homes. Additional turbines will go up by 2020 increasing capacity to about 1,000 megawatts.
These turbines will be gearless, using ring magnets instead. This allows them to operate better in low wind conditions and will lesson the amount of maintenace needed to keep the turbines in working order.
The debate about wind turbines continues to this day, with many environmentalists and environmental groups in cautious support and many people local to the area nervous about noise and aesthetics. Despite the protests though, it seems as though offshore wind is likely to forge ahead on the Great Lakes.
Other projects have been suggested for many other points in the Great Lakes, but so far this project, off of the Cleveland shoreline is the only one that has been implemented.
Comments