Study finds strong winds off Lake Erie for turbine project

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1200043876184570.xml&coll=2

WIND POWER STUDY

Study finds strong winds off Lake Erie for turbine project

Friday, January 11, 2008
Tom Breckenridge
Plain Dealer Reporter

Lake Erie winds are the strong est recorded anywhere in Ohio, good news for city leaders exploring whether Cleveland could be an interna tional hub for offshore wind power.

A two-year study of wind off downtown Cleveland's shoreline found average speeds markedly stronger than those already turning wind turbines in Bowling Green, the nonprofit Green Energy Ohio reported Thursday.

GEO's report is timely. On Tuesday, Cuyahoga County commissioners approved a $1 million study that will look at the costs and challenges of erecting a small wind farm on Lake Erie, as well as establishing a wind research, development and certification center here.

"This is the first measurement of offshore wind and the results are encouraging," said Paul Oyaski, director of the county's development department. "The results show not only the vitality of the offshore wind, but the viability of offshore wind power."

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[GreenGreenLimaBean]

1. Lake Erie's first wind turbines are down

My mom told me about the Lackawanna project that is just miles from her house...But after reading this report, it's looking like they chose the wrong turbine technology...hope they recover.


http://www.realneo.us/blog/jeff-buster/wind-turbine-gears-are-problem-in-lackawanna

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. That's unfortunate!

That's going to happen when a number of companies are attempting to develop competing technologies. Some technologies will work. Some won't.

Here's some painful irony from the Clipper Windpower web site:
http://www.clipperwind.com/productline.html

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In the world of large-scale wind energy, reliability equates to project success. It's the unscheduled downtime that brings the highest risk with costs that can literally jeopardize a project's profitability. Clipper's patented 2.5 MW Liberty Wind Turbine moves beyond current wind technology reliability constraints to address the drivers of traditional unscheduled maintenance expense, namely downtime associated with gearbox stresses, and significant costs associated with unplanned large crane call-outs.

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