Aug 6 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Mark Todd Star Beacon, Ashtabula, Ohio

A Conneaut wind farm could produce a tax windfall for the city, schools and Ashtabula County, City Council learned at a Monday night work session.

The first public informational meeting on the proposed east-side project played out before an overflow audience. The crowd learned as many as 50 of the giant windmills could sprout on three parcels, including some city-owned property, between Lake Erie and Interstate 90 near the Pennsylvania line.

Depending on a lot of variables, combined taxes paid on the project could approach $1 million annually, council learned.

At issue is a proposal from SGR Site Associates of Willoughby, which wants to acquire some 150 acres of land within the municipally owned East Conneaut Industrial Park. The city land sits between two larger privately owned parcels. Combined, the three parcels would create a 2,500-acre tract that could be home to dozens of the propeller-driven power generators.

Ron Gainar of SGR told the crowd he envisions a 100-megawatt project at the site. The average windmill is a 2 megawatt producer, meaning 50 mills could be built, officials said.

The land sought by SGR includes a 93.5 acre tract north of Route 20 and two smaller parcels south of the highway. The project does not include property earmarked for industrial park development.

The city and SGR are negotiating a deal for the property. According to reports, SGR wants to pay between $2,000 and $2,500 per acre, a price some on council feel is too low compared to offers made to the other affected landowners.

SGR would pay around $25,000 for a two-year option on the land. If no windmills result from the project, the land would revert to city ownership, officials have said.

Gainar said the sale of the city land would set in motion a series of events that could lead to start of construction possibly in 2010 or 2011. If the city sells the land, SGR expects to seal a deal for the other parcels, he said.

"Once we get the (city land), the others will follow," Gainar said. "It's a pivotal piece of the puzzle."

With all the land lined up, SGR then would conduct a series of studies to determine if the property is a good fit for a wind farm, Gainar said. Test towers would be erected to gauge wind strength and direction. Results would help determine the spacing for the windmills, he said.

Other tests would be needed to find out how power generated by the mills could be put on the grid and the effect of the windmills on birds' migratory patterns, Gainar said. All told, more than two years of study would be needed to find out the site's true potential, he said.

If the project gets the green light, construction would occur over a two- or three-year period, Gainar said.

"(The site) would be crawling with jobs," he said. "It would be a renaissance for Conneaut. The bars and restaurants would be full of workers."

Joseph Mayernick, Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County's executive director, said there's a chance satellite industries could locate around the wind-farm site. It's believed the wind farm would create more than 20 full-time jobs, he said.

SGR already has made contact with a number of prominent power companies about the Conneaut project, Gainar said. He declined to identify any of the utilities for now.

"They're all interested," he said.

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