Lake Erie Wind Power
February 8, 2008
By Greg Sushinsky
Investors looking for true green, that is, realistic ecological
projects which utilize other than fossil fuels should know that most
are still a look-into-the-future play, but as the late football coach
George Allen used to say, maybe the future is now, or at least much
closer. Although the first Earth Day was held in 1970, the gasoline
crisis was in the early ’70s, and we hear much more about
alternative energy sources and green projects than we’ve actually
seen commercially deployed, some changes have slowly begun to
filter their way into the behemoth that is the world’s economic
systems.
While hybrid cars and recycled trash are green projects that are
in their nascent stages of realization, but with far more development
likely, one eco-friendly resource just getting out of the blocks is wind
power. As solar power has been slow to gain commercial traction,
with its current high costs and spotty development, wind power
advocates hope to eclipse that progress in the not so distant future.
Other countries have been ahead of the US in embracing wind
power, but one large company, General Electric (NYSE: GE) is
joining in.
GE’s plans to place 66 wind power turbines on the north shore of
Lake Erie in Ontario signals a serious foray into the clean power
arena, according to Tom Catino, in a story published on Wind
Energy News. In a fledging industry that’s thus far been dominated
by small, often micro-sized companies, GE is throwing its
considerable heft in the ring. The company has over a century of
presence and experience in power generation in Canada, and the
Erie Shores Wind Farm marks a new phase in the company’s
history.
The project will be developed through a company called GE
Energy Erie Shores Wind Farm Limited Partnership, and along with
GE providing the turbines, they will operate and maintain the project
for the first four years. This is a joint venture with the Clean Power
Income Fund and the AmGen Power Corporation, a private
Canadian firm. The Canadian Government has been actively
promoting and is actively seeking to expand wind power as a
environmentally preferred source of power.
On the American side, US projects are currently slated for Buffalo
and possibly Cleveland. Lake Erie and the surrounding area is
surprisingly windy, with constant sustained winds often in the 13 to
16 mph range, often gusting higher. This wind is all-seasonal, thus
its appeal for development. The mixture of cities along with less
populated areas on the shores of the lake offer an intriguing mix of
development possibilities.
February 8, 2008
By Greg Sushinsky
Investors looking for true green, that is, realistic ecological
projects which utilize other than fossil fuels should know that most
are still a look-into-the-future play, but as the late football coach
George Allen used to say, maybe the future is now, or at least much
closer. Although the first Earth Day was held in 1970, the gasoline
crisis was in the early ’70s, and we hear much more about
alternative energy sources and green projects than we’ve actually
seen commercially deployed, some changes have slowly begun to
filter their way into the behemoth that is the world’s economic
systems.
While hybrid cars and recycled trash are green projects that are
in their nascent stages of realization, but with far more development
likely, one eco-friendly resource just getting out of the blocks is wind
power. As solar power has been slow to gain commercial traction,
with its current high costs and spotty development, wind power
advocates hope to eclipse that progress in the not so distant future.
Other countries have been ahead of the US in embracing wind
power, but one large company, General Electric (NYSE: GE) is
joining in.
GE’s plans to place 66 wind power turbines on the north shore of
Lake Erie in Ontario signals a serious foray into the clean power
arena, according to Tom Catino, in a story published on Wind
Energy News. In a fledging industry that’s thus far been dominated
by small, often micro-sized companies, GE is throwing its
considerable heft in the ring. The company has over a century of
presence and experience in power generation in Canada, and the
Erie Shores Wind Farm marks a new phase in the company’s
history.
The project will be developed through a company called GE
Energy Erie Shores Wind Farm Limited Partnership, and along with
GE providing the turbines, they will operate and maintain the project
for the first four years. This is a joint venture with the Clean Power
Income Fund and the AmGen Power Corporation, a private
Canadian firm. The Canadian Government has been actively
promoting and is actively seeking to expand wind power as a
environmentally preferred source of power.
On the American side, US projects are currently slated for Buffalo
and possibly Cleveland. Lake Erie and the surrounding area is
surprisingly windy, with constant sustained winds often in the 13 to
16 mph range, often gusting higher. This wind is all-seasonal, thus
its appeal for development. The mixture of cities along with less
populated areas on the shores of the lake offer an intriguing mix of
development possibilities.
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