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By Matt Sanctis, Staff Writer Updated 8:57 AM Friday, January 22, 2010

URBANA — Initial briefs were filed this week as attorneys from several entities made their arguments on a proposed wind project that may eventually dot Champaign County with wind turbines.

Initial arguments were filed Wednesday, Jan. 20, in the case which is being reviewed by the Ohio Power Siting Board.

If approved as proposed, the Buckeye Wind Project would construct about 70 wind turbines in Goshen, Rush, Salem, Union, Urbana and Wayne Twps. in Champaign County. The proposal has drawn both support and criticism from residents in the county. In November, attorneys representing several separate entities provided testimony to the board on issues ranging from the effects of shadow flicker from the turbines to the potential impact on pilots flying into Grimes Field.

Matt Butler, a spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, said attorneys will now have until Feb. 1 to reply to the initial briefs filed.

At that point, he said, two administrative law judges who presided over the hearings will draft their recommendations, which will be provided to the board for further review.

The board is expected to review a wide range of additional material before making their decision, including the application from Everpower Renewables, the company proposing the project. They will also review the testimony presented last year, as well as arguments from attorneys and concerns from residents.

Butler said the board’s next meeting has not yet been scheduled, but is expected to take place in March. He said a decision on the project could come as early as that meeting.

The board has flexibility in its decision, and it can approve or reject the project as a whole. It can also allow some turbines while preventing others from being built. In addition, it can place conditions on individual turbines proposed in the project.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355 or msanctis@coxohio.com.

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