EDITOR’S NOTE: Today through the end of the year we will look back and highlight what we consider to be some of the top news stories of 2016 in Logan County.
A local wind energy project took a giant leap forward in 2016 despite a vote by Logan County Commissioners that they would not support a tax incentive to build in Logan County.
In January, EverPower Wind Holdings announced a settlement that resolved the final legal appeal filed by local residents, and as the year comes to a close, are ready to move forward with construction in Hardin County.
The company’s decision whether or not to build turbines in Logan County is not yet final, however.
This map shows the original Scioto Ridge Wind project with red turbine icons representing turbines that were removed as part of the Ohio Supreme Court case settlement; blue icons for ones that may not be built after a Logan County decision to reject a payment in lieu of taxes request and green icons for those that are expected to be constructed in 2017.
A project to build a 170-plus turbine wind energy development in the two coun- ties was previously approved by the Ohio Power Siting Board in 2014 and the appeals were outstanding to start the year.
The agreement eliminated 65 of the orig- inally proposed 170-plus turbines. The 65 turbines removed were those closest to Indian Lake, while 19 remained in Logan County and 87 in Hardin.
With an Alternative Energy Zone agree- ment already in place in Hardin County, EverPower was free to move forward with the construction of the 88 turbines there and opted to seek a payment in lieu of taxes agreement in order to proceed in Logan County.
According to the PILOT request com- missioners would later vote on, EverPower proposed to pay $9,000 per year each megawatt rating of the turbines located in Logan County. That annual payment
Read complete story Friday’s Examiner.
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