The actual number of Ohio farmers who benefit from wind energy is unknown, but it is likely in the hundreds. According to Jeffrey Reinkemeyer, the 152-turbine, 304-megawatt Blue Creek wind farm in Van Wert and Paulding counties has 250 landowners and farmers involved. In May, he appeared before the Ohio House Energy and Natural Resources Committee as the director of eastern renewables development for Avangrid Renewables.
Ohio had 738 megawatts of wind capacity installed as of July. This is less than Michigan and Indiana, owing to tripled property line setbacks in 2014. Farmers who can lease land for turbines, on the other hand, frequently welcome the opportunity to earn additional guaranteed revenue.
“The amount of farmers that are cooperating with a variety of energy service providers and companies is incredible,” Arnold added. Some agricultural enterprises are now leasing property for solar energy, in addition to leasing land for wind energy. Farmers in some sections of the state, on the other hand, have a long history of leasing land for oil and gas exploration and drilling.
“If you’re a farmer, you think about anything that shines down on the land, blows across the land, flows across the land, or grows up from the land,” Ernie Shea, president of Solutions from the Land, said. Shea spoke at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ annual convention in Fort Collins, Colorado, earlier this month on a panel about agriculture and climate change. “Wind is an excellent example of something that may be used on agricultural landscapes,” he says.
Not just in bad years
In favorable years, wind and other energy-related leasing can also aid farmers. “Many of them are putting that money into retirement or other farm-related investments,” Arnold explained.
Many farms in Ohio are intergenerational, with grandparents, parents, and adult children all working in the family enterprise. Saving for retirement, performing critical repairs and maintenance, making capital enhancements, or investing in educational opportunities are all common aspirations for different generations. Strategic planning and counseling can help families define priorities for how they will use income from wind turbines or other energy leasing, according to Arnold.
Farmers must also prepare ahead if they want to be able to rely on energy-related lease revenue when it is most required. According to Arnold, it can take three to four years from the time a farmer meets with a corporate representative until the project is up and running. As a result, farmers “must look several years ahead.”
Farmers must also consider long-term planning. Farmers who lease property for wind turbines can often work their field right up to the base of the turbine. Solar panels have a far greater footprint, but the lease payments can be three times as high as the net income farmers could make if they kept the land in agriculture, according to Arnold.
“What will this mean for future generations?” he wondered. Farm families must examine how those challenges may affect future generations. “They’re negotiating very carefully what actions will be taken when the solar farm is decommissioned to turn this land back into agriculture,” says the source.
According to American Wind Energy Association spokesperson Evan Vaughan, wind farms in Ohio pay landowners an estimated $1 million to $5 million per year. The exact statistics vary by location, but annual leasing fees range from $3,000 to $6,000 per megawatt of installed wind energy. Most turbines installed last year have a capacity of 2 to 3 megawatts per turbine, according to Vaughan. Farms in favorable locations can accommodate many turbines.
The revenue doesn’t replace farm income, but it can help supplement it, according to Vaughan. “This additional revenue is the difference between continuing a multi-generational farming legacy and abandoning a way of life for many families.”
‘A bit of pushback’
“Wind farms deliver decent jobs and additional cash to towns that host them, in addition to land lease payments,” Vaughan stated. Wind farms in Ohio contribute nearly $7 million in state and local taxes each year, which helps fund rural school districts, purchase new emergency services equipment, and patch potholes.
Since 2014, however, a last-minute budget bill modification that tripled property line setbacks for projects that had not yet gone through the permitting process has stalled Ohio’s wind energy boom. Even back then, there was opposition to wind energy initiatives.
“According to Ben Lilliston, director of rural strategies and climate change for the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, who also spoke at the Society of Environmental Journalists’ meeting, “there is a lot of concern and a little bit of pushback around the big wind developments in a lot of rural areas.”
He remarked that debates center on who profits from leasing payments and whether the community benefits as well. Some people are also opposed to it “Neighbors who believe their community’s character is vanishing and who believe they are not receiving the benefits, he added.
“You really need communities to come up… and ‘Okay, how can we do this in such a way that we create a wind win-win situation here where everyone benefits?’ said Lilliston.
However, the outcomes of these debates vary by location. And those in charge of or sponsoring such pressure groups may or may not be members of the community.
Wind energy was accepted in Van Wert County, Ohio, for several years before the state quadrupled property line setbacks in 2014. However, the positions of some county commissioners have since evolved. Anti-wind organizations operate in Seneca County and worldwide. Outside activists that feed anti-wind sentiment have been linked to organizations with fossil fuel ties, according to the Checks and Balances Project and the Energy and Policy Institute.
Meanwhile, the Northwest Ohio Wind Farm, which began generating power last year, was welcomed by Paulding County. Residents in the area also joined forces with the Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition to file a lawsuit to have the setbacks quadrupled. The case was dismissed by the trial court in August. According to attorney Jon Secrest, the plaintiffs did not appeal the ruling.
Several legislation to address the tripled property line setbacks have likewise been stalled or thwarted by the Ohio House of Representatives’ current leadership.
“Many setback conditions have been imposed on the basis of whim. The administration has altered them multiple times, according to Arnold. ” We support wind turbine setback requirements that are based on scientific research and assure safety.
“If we don’t address climate change in Ohio, this trend will continue to harm our farming community and make it more difficult for our farmers to produce food in one of the country’s greatest agricultural regions, according to Leppla.
In Van Wert, Ohio, how many wind turbines are there?
Travelers on U.S. Highway 30 in Van Wert County can view the enormous expanse of wind farms (about 200 turbines) to the north of the highway. These turbines can generate 304 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power over 500 ordinary homes.
China288.32 GW
China has the world’s highest wind energy capacity, with slightly over 288 GW at the end of 2020, having added 52 GW of additional electricity, significantly more than any other country.
Onshore wind accounts for little over 278 GW of China’s fleet, with offshore wind accounting for the remaining 10 GW.
In terms of the worldwide offshore wind market, China is second only to the United Kingdom in terms of scale.
Despite possessing the world’s largest wind (and solar) power capacity, China’s economy is so large that it produces 53% of the world’s coal-fired electricity.
As the UK strives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, wind and other renewable energy sources are expected to increase even more as coal units are phased out to satisfy decarbonization goals.
United States122.32 GW
The United States ranks second on the list, with roughly 122 GW of installed wind capacity, almost all of which is onshore.
In 2020, the country built 17 GW of new wind capacity, placing it second only to China and representing an 85 percent growth year over year.
Texas leads the way in wind power generation in the United States, but Wyoming, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Missouri have also been active in the technology’s development.
Although onshore wind power has been the dominant source of wind power in the United States to date, there are growing expectations for an increase in offshore projects in the future years.
President Joe Biden has set a goal of installing 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, and has enlisted the help of multiple government departments to monitor the industry’s rapid growth as part of a larger drive to decarbonize the US electricity system by 2035.
Germany62.85 GW
With a national fleet of just under 63 GW of installed capacity split between 55 GW onshore and 7.7 GW offshore, Germany is Europe’s top location for wind power deployment.
According to trade organisation Wind Europe, wind power supplied 27 percent of Germany’s electricity in 2020, with onshore contributing 103 terawatt hours (TWh) and offshore providing 27 TWh.
By 2030, the government aspires to generate 65 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, and authorities plan to develop 71 GW of onshore wind capacity and 20 GW of offshore wind capacity to achieve this goal.
The country will build 1.67 GW of additional wind capacity by 2020. In comparison to the previous year, offshore construction has slowed significantly.
India38.63 GW
India ranks fourth among countries with the most wind energy capacity, with over 39 GW of capacity located onshore.
Although the country currently has no offshore capacity, it has set goals to deploy 5 GW by 2022 and 30 GW by 2030.
Tamil Nadu, which is home to the country’s largest wind farm, Muppandal, and Gujarat are the top two states in India for wind power generation.
Supply chain interruptions and lockdown limitations triggered by the Covid-19 outbreak reduced new capacity additions by more than half in 2020 compared to a year earlier. A big resurgence is projected in 2021, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Spain27.24 GW
Spain has little over 27 GW of installed wind energy capacity, and its sector, like that of the United States and India, is dominated by onshore infrastructure.
Wind is the country’s primary source of renewable energy generation, with 1.4 GW of new capacity installed in 2020.
In terms of wind energy development, the areas of Castilla y Len, Castilla La Mancha, Galicia, Andalusia, and Aragon are among the most active in Spain.
Iberdrola, a Spanish energy provider, recently announced plans to build the country’s first commercial-scale floating offshore wind project, which will serve as a springboard for another 2 GW of offshore wind development off the shores of Galicia, Andalusia, and the Canary Islands.
In western Ohio, how many windmills are there?
The windmills will rise approximately 500 feet from the ground to the tip of the turbine, nearly as high as the 555-foot LeVeque Tower in Downtown Columbus.
“There are a lot of consumers who want to see sustainable energy,” said Jason Dagger, the wind farm’s project manager, who lives 75 miles northwest of Columbus.
In 2008, the Scioto Ridge project was planned. The 250-megawatt facility will be capable of powering approximately 60,000 dwellings.
The developer is RWE Renewables, a German electricity business that recently acquired Scioto Ridge from Innogy.
For giving up what amounts to about a half-acre to an acre of land, and for putting up with noise from the turbines and what some consider an eyesore, about 100 farmers and property owners hosting the turbines are expected to receive between $12,000 and $15,000 per year for the life of the project, and more than $1 million in total payments.
Payments of around $2.25 million per year will be split among school districts and other government entities.
Around 150 construction jobs and 10 permanent employment have been created as a result of the project.
Lorne Quay, 55, watches large trucks thunder down his once-quiet road, which is barely wide enough for two vehicles at a moment. His 3-acre home is encircled by three turbines.
Trucks towing the blades and other pieces had to make extra-wide turns, so the firm had to temporarily enlarge highways and crossings.
Farmland has been converted into building grounds, with new gravel roads providing access to each turbine location.
Scioto Ridge’s building is similar to what has occurred everywhere in Ohio in the last decade or so in terms of generating new energy sources.
The fracking boom has altered portions of eastern Ohio as businesses explore for oil and natural gas, while wind farms dot parts of northwest Ohio. Across addition, solar farms are being built in the state.
In an email, Mike Chadsey, spokesperson for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, said, “All energy sources and the development that comes with them have their hurdles as well as their upsides.”
Oil and gas production, according to Chadsey, makes better use of land than windmills because a smaller area of land may generate the same amount of electricity as hundreds of windmills.
For example, an electric substation was relocated behind a forested area so that a property owner wouldn’t have to stare at it every day.
The American Wind Association’s spokesman, Greg Alvarez, stated, “It is in everyone’s best interest for the development to be a nice neighbor.”
Turbines are getting bigger, so fewer are needed in a farm to generate the same amount of power as before, he said.
The wind business, like the oil and gas industries, sells the economic benefits of its projects to the communities, many of which have experienced decades of population stagnation or decline.
Jerry Stout, 75, who lives approximately three-quarters of a mile from the nearest turbine, stated, “I don’t like them.”
“I told them my way of life wasn’t for sale,” he added, lamenting the turbines’ impact on the area’s natural beauty.
According to the wind organization, wind accounts for only around 1.7 percent of the electricity generated in Ohio, which has 419 windmills, ranking it 24th among states.
The majority of the state’s windmills are located in Paulding and Van Wert counties in the northwest corner of the state. In Hardin County, there is another farm that is smaller than Scioto Ridge.
State regulators have approved a project in Lake Erie, but developers argue the project can’t move forward due of the limits imposed.
Other projects have been proposed, including one in Seneca County, which has received a lot of resistance. Last year, residents wearing yellow T-shirts swarmed the Statehouse in protest of House Bill 6, a contentious bill that offers subsidies for the state’s two nuclear power reactors while also attempting to tighten regulations on wind farms.
Opponents question the turbines’ utility and energy generation. Turbines, they claim, disrupt rural towns’ calm environment and push down property prices.
There have also been complaints regarding noise from the whirling turbines and shadows cast by the blades over time.
According to project manager Dagger, technology now allows for improved control of the turbines’ shadows and noise.
“I completely understand if someone tells me they don’t want to look at a wind turbine,” Dagger remarked. “It’s someone’s opinion, and they have the right to have it.”
According to Jerry Zielke, the county’s assistant economic development director, Paulding County, in northwest Ohio, has embraced the recent boom in turbines.
Farmers in the county were responsible for the original wind development, and major corporations such as Amazon, GM, and Microsoft are interested in purchasing the energy generated by the projects.
Property owners become accustomed to the turbines with time, according to the wind group.
According to a survey conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 92 percent of householders living within 5 miles of a wind turbine either prefer or don’t mind them.
That includes Quay, a 55-year-old who will be compensated by the developer due to the turbines’ proximity to his residence.
“I don’t have any negative feelings toward them,” he stated. “These are preferable to a hog farm.”
In Ohio, where are the wind turbines?
Blue Creek Wind Farm is an onshore wind farm in northwestern Ohio’s Van Wert and Paulding Counties. It is the state’s largest wind-based power facility, with a 304MW installed capacity. The $600 million wind project was completed in March 2012 and began commercial operation in June 2012.
The wind farm produces enough renewable electricity to power about 76,000 homes each year. The wind farm reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 1.6 billion pounds a year, the equivalent of taking 114,000 cars off the road.
Blue Creek Wind Farm, a limited liability company controlled by Iberdrola Renewables, a wholly owned subsidiary of Iberdrola, owns and operates the plant.
What are the most common locations for wind turbines?
Utility-scale1 wind power plants were installed in 42 states in 2021, generating a total of 380 billion kilowatthours (kWh). Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Illinois were the five states with the most wind-generated electricity in 2021. In 2021, these states accounted for nearly 56% of total wind electricity generation in the United States. 2
The US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Electricity Statistics Browser has monthly and annual national and state-level electricity generation data, while the Hourly Electric Grid Monitor has hourly generation data by fuel/energy source for the Lower 48 States by area.
To power the entire world, how many wind turbines would be required?
The calculation, according to Steve Sawyer, Secretary General of the Global Wind Energy Council, is as follows: 21,000 terawatt-hours (average annual global electricity consumption) divided by 0.005256 terawatt-hours of yearly wind energy production per wind turbine equals 3,995,434 onshore turbines.
What is the world’s largest wind farm?
The Gansu Wind Farm, also known as the Jiuquan Wind Power Base, is located on the borders of the Gobi Desert in Gansu Province, China. It is the world’s largest wind farm, with a planned capacity of 20GW. The farm will have 7,000 turbines when it is finished, producing enough energy to run a small country.
This $17.5 billion project is part of the Chinese government’s plan to invest a total of 360 billion dollars in renewable energy sources. The Renewable Energy Law was enacted in 2005 with the goal of achieving 200 GW of installed wind capacity in the country.
The first phase of the project, which included the installation of 3,500 turbines with a total capacity of 5,16GW, was finished in 2010. In 2008, work on a 750 kV AC power line to transport electricity to China’s central and eastern regions began.
Where in the United States is the largest wind farm?
The Roscoe Wind Farm (RWF) is the world’s largest onshore wind farm. It lies 45 miles south-west of Abilene, Texas, in the United States. It is one of the world’s largest wind farms, owned by RWE.
RWF’s installed capacity of 781.5MW surpasses that of the previously largest Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center (735.5MW), which is located southwest of Abilene in Taylor and Nolan counties.
The plant, which was built by E.ON Climate and Renewables (EC&R) of Germany, is spread across 100,000 acres of land largely utilized for cotton production in Mitchell, Nolan, and Scurry counties. Farmers who grow dryland cotton have leased the land.
Blue Creek Wind Farm is owned by who?
Developer and Owner (NYSE: AGR), and a member of the IBERDROLA Group, an energy pioneer with the world’s largest renewable asset base. Avangrid Renewables is based in Portland, Oregon, and manages and contracts for more than 6,000 megawatts of renewable energy in the United States.
