Wind Energy DiscussionVan Wert County Economic DevelopmentJune 22, 2011
1. Blue Creek Overview
2. Regulatory environment in Ohio
Blue Creek Wind Farm
• 152 wind turbines– Gamesa G90 2.0 MW on 100m towers
• Approx $600M investment
• Construction started September 2010
• Should go online in December 2011
• Approx $1.1 million in annual lease payments
• Approx $2.7 million/year in local property tax revenue
• 114 turbines in Van Wert County, 38 in Paulding
• 15-20 new permanent jobs2
Our Three Projects
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Our Three Projects
• Blue Creek – up to 350 MW (175 turbines)
• Prairie Creek – 200 MW (100 turbines)
–North of Ohio Route 114
• Dog Creek – 300 MW (150 turbines)
–East of U.S. Route 127
• Strong interconnection positions for all three.
• Total investment: approx $1.7 Billion
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Doing Business in Ohio
• Permits – the OPSB, Federal, local
• SB 221 (2008) – Portfolio Standard
• SB 232 (2010) – Property Taxes
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Ohio Power Siting Board
• Division of PUCO, issues CECPNs
• 2008 rules to govern wind farms > 5 MW
• Blue Creek Timeline– Dec 21, 2009 filing of 3,000+ page application
– April 2010 supplemental filing with re-designed project
– July 15, 2010 Stipulation reached with Staff
– August 23, 2010 CECPN issued
– September 22, 2010 Start of Construction approved
• Thorough, centralized process7
Federal and local permits
• Federal– FAA
– ACOE
• Local– Officially, none
– Road Agreement
– Regular communication with
townships and counties
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SB 221 (2008)
• Advanced Energy Portfolio Standard (“RPS” elsewhere)
• 25% by 2025: 12.5% renewable, 12.5% advanced– 2.5% by 2014, then increases of 1% per year
– 0.5% “carve-out” for solar energy
• 50% in-state requirement
• Created a market for renewable energy in OH– Led us to move project plans from IN to OH
• Adds long-term price stability to OH market– Fixed prices at 5-8 cents/kW-hr for 20 years 9
SB 232 (2010)
• PILOT for personal property taxes
• Vital for capital-intensive wind projects
• Replaced rates of up to $40k/MW/yr with $9k/MW/yr
• Clarified sales tax exemption for energy conversion equip.
• Need County-level approval
• Need to hire >50% Ohio-domiciled employees
–$6k if >75%, $7k if >60%, $8k >50%
• Other reqs: educational partnership, emergency responders, road repairs, sell to OH utilities
• 2 year term, but current budget bill includes 3 yr extension 10
SB 232 (2010) relative to adj. states
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SB 232 (2010) local benefit
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• Blue Creek in VW County:
114 x 2.0 MW turbines
$9k/MW
= $2,052,000 new rev/year
= top 14 current taxpayers combined
Local Benefits of Blue Creek and Timber Road II
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• Peak construction jobs: 495
• New permanent jobs: 30
• NW Ohio vendors/suppliers to the projects: 40
• Total spending on local contracts: $21.3 M
• Total local spending in April by out of state workers: $100,000
• Combined annual local taxes: $3.6 M
• Combined annual landowner payments: $2.6 M
• To-date local contributions: $145,000
• Vantage contributions over 20 years: $325,000
Contact information
www.iberdrolarenewables.us/bluecreek.html
773-318-1289
126 E Main St, Van Wert
