- Allen
- Auglaize
- Crawford
- Darke
- Defiance
- Erie
- Fulton
- Hancock
- Hardin
- Henry
- Huron
- Logan
- Lorain
- Lucas
- Mercer
- Morrow
- Ottawa
- Paulding
- Putnam
- Richland
- Sandusky
- Seneca
- Shelby
- Van Wert
- Williams
- Wood
- Wyandot
Traveling along SR 6 in Northwest Ohio you can see the wind mills miles in the distance. In your mind you say, oh wind mills, but as you grow closer, they grow larger and larger until you are simply amazed by their shear size.
This was the first utility wind farm in Ohio. Each of the four towering structures is 257 feet tall with three rotating blades with each of them 132 feet long. At its apex, the blade tip stands nearly 400 feet over the corn fields below. At optimum rotation, the blades rotate at 16.8 revolutions per minute and when constructed they were the largest wind turbines west of the Rocky Mountains. Today these wind farms are springing up across the state in various sizes and locations.
This windfarm was built on an old landfill just southwest of Bowling Green and the turbines began operation in late , 2003. When constructe, the turbines could produce electriciyty in winds as low as 9 miles per hour and could withstand wind gusts up to 133 miles per hour. They had an estimated combined output of almost 14,000 megawatt hours providing enough power for 1500 homes.
The Green Mountain Energy Company has worked with local Ohio utilities from Bowling Green, Cuyahoga Falls, Edgerton, Elmore, Monroeville, Montpelier, Napoleon, Oberlin, Pioneer and Wadsworth to create this wind farm. It is quite a sight to see and you will enjoy the short detour outside of the city.
Wind is an inexhaustible energy resource that can be homegrown. Positive effects on Ohio's economic development combined with minimal negative effects on our environment makes wind the right choice.
Ohio has even greater wind potential than researchers initially believed and we have an abundance of untapped manufacturing potential that wind power could help to harness.
The Ohio Wind Production & Manufacturing Incentive Program is made possible through funds collected under Ohio's Advanced Energy Fund.
Wind energy is the world's fastest growing energy resource. Used for centuries in Europe, wind is now finding increasing use in the United States and other nations. Wind turbines, both large and small, produce electricity for utilities, homeowners and communities.
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