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Hearing for turbine project to continue

If approved, 70 wind turbines would be constructed in a portion of Champaign County.

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By Matt Sanctis, Staff Writer 6:32 PM Saturday, November 21, 2009

URBANA — After two weeks of testimony, the proposed Buckeye Wind Project crept closer to a decision by the Ohio Power Siting Board this week.

But the project is still likely a long way from approval.

If approved, the project would allow Everpower Renewables to build about 70 wind turbines in a section of Champaign County that spans about 9,000 acres and six townships.

Witnesses for Everpower Renewables presented testimony about the project in the first week of hearings. Intervenors, including Champaign County Prosecutors and Union Neighbors United, also produced their own witnesses who raised their concerns about the proposed project.

Although testimony spanned about two weeks, a spokesman for the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio said it could still be months before a final conclusion is reached in the case.

“Once the hearings are done and the attorney’s report is done it’s hard to say exactly how long it will be,” said Matt Butler, a spokesman for PUCO.

Attorneys will have the chance to rebut testimony presented over the last two weeks, a process that will likely begin in early December.

Administrative law judges overseeing the hearings will also file a report based on the testimony presented before the state’s power siting board comes to a decision.

Even if the project is approved, there will still be an appeal process before the project can move forward.

The situation is unusual, Butler said, because the Buckeye Wind Project is the first large-scale wind turbine farm that has ever been proposed in Ohio.

While this is the first time a proposal for a wind project has been considered by the board, it is following the same approval process that any other public utility would face, Butler said.

“It’s new in a way but the process works the same,” he said.

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

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