Home of the big wind (Ohio)

[jpak]

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070430/OPINION02/704300305/-1/OPINION

OHIOANS don't need a government study to tell them we get a lot of wind. On many days in western Ohio, especially in our corner of the state, the winds blow at a brisk pace. Down in Bowling Green, the City harnesses the power of the wind to offer electricity to its municipal power customers; four huge wind turbines west of town, visible from I-75, are a source of "green" pride for BG folks.

Capturing wind power and converting it to electricity means less coal is burned and there is less greenhouse gas to pollute the atmosphere. But in addition to doing something good for the environment, the turbines do something good for utility bills. They lower them.

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A new government computer modeling program delivered these findings, which could soon escort the state into the future regarding alternative energy use.

Thanks to our mostly flat topography, the computer program shows that Ohio is perfect for additional commercial-sized wind turbines. At 100 meters, or 328 feet, off the ground, the wind is steady enough to keep turbine blades spinning consistently in a vast swath of Ohio, north of Dayton and Columbus and along the Lake Erie shoreline.

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