Wind farm launches in Paulding County

PAYNE — The green energy revolution we’ve all been hearing about kicked off Wednesday with a little less revolution that its architects would have liked.Officials from the Houston, Texas, based EDP Renewables cut the ribbon Wednesday on the state’s first industrial wind farm. The 55-turbine farm sits on 7,000 acres of farm land south of Payne in Paulding County, extending to the Van Wert County line. On an ironically wind-free day for the region, the group launched Timber Road II, a wind farm expected to generate 99 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 27,000 Ohio homes. About 50 more turbines are planned on about 8,000 acres north of Payne.“This is the first full wind farm to open in the state. There have been a couple windmills online outside of Bowling Green, but this is the first utilty-scale wind farm,” said EDP Spokeswoman Erin Bowsher.The company — formerly named Horizon Wind Energy — has been working with local officials for more than two years to get the farm going. More than 1,000 workers were employed to erect the windmills, most of which were built in Colorado. The company is investing approximately $175 million in Paulding County, including recent donations of $60,000 to the Paulding County Soil and Water Conservation Office and $40,000 to the county’s agriculture extension office. That money, including millions spent on leasing land from area landowners, is a shot in the arm for the county’s economy, said Commissioner Tony Zartman.“It’s quite a boon for our local economy. We’re looking at $900,000 just in payment in lieu of taxes, that’s not counting other investment and payment to landowners. It should help change our community’s situation,” Zartman said. EDP’s farm is just the start of a massive investment in the region. Just a few fields over from the EDP farm is a larger one being constructed by Iberdrola Renewables. That field will have 152 windmills capable of generating more than 300 megawatts of power.“By the end of the year, you will be generating over 400 megawatts of power. That’s bigger than the output of a conventional goal or natural gas plant, and you can see it all from right here,” said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association.The regional dominance in wind farms is partially a benefit of having plenty of flat, windy land available. It’s also a product of some state initiatives that offered incentives to renewable energy manufacturers and required that 25 percent of the state’s energy be provided by renewable resources by the year 2025.“It’s really creating one of the bright spots we have seen on the economy, particularly in this part of the country,” Bode said.The windmills may be changing the economic landscape, but they are also changing the literal landscape of the region. Zartman said he has heard complaints from people about the appearance of the mills, but has seen nothing come through the commissioners’ office. “My house is right across from a windmill,” Zartman said. “You don’t even notice it after awhile. It’s just kind of there, but you know it’s helping the community.” You can comment on this story at www.limaohio.com.