A wind energy location company has locked in more than 7,000 of the 10,000 acres needed to build a $250 million wind farm east of Lowell, the Lake County Council learned Tuesday.
Andrew Paterson, spokesman for Michigan Energy Generation, explained plans for the 100 megawatt, 60-turbine project and fielded questions from council members.
Paterson said his company has signed leases with landowners of 7,000 acres already, and the rest should be finalized within the next couple of months.
The site is located in Eagle Creek Township east of Interstate 65.
“We like this area because Northwest Indiana has some of, if not the best wind resources in Indiana,” Paterson said.
Landowners will receive a percentage of the revenue generated by the wind farm, Paterson said, but declined to disclose how much. Dan Blaney, an Morocco-based attorney representing 30 to 40 of the property owners who will lease their land for wind turbines, said property owners are paid $10 an acre while Michigan Energy is conducting its feasibility study.
Michigan Energy expects to appear before the Lake County Plan Commission after land is locked in to seek permission to locate a meteorological tower on-site this fall.
The tower has equipment to measure wind speed, direction, temperature and pressure. The tower will be monitored over a period of at least one year, Paterson said, to determine if the location would be feasible for a wind farm. Only one of every four locations tested is actually developed into a wind farm, he said.
Councilman Rick Niemeyer asked Paterson if Michigan Energy was looking across the county line at Newton County.
“We’ve had preliminary discussions with landowners, but our primary focus is Lake County,” Paterson said
“We need to talk about the zoning and how this is going to work,” Neimeyer said. “You’re looking at all unincorporated areas.”
Councilman Jerome Prince asked Paterson about locating turbines along the Lake Michigan lakeshore.
“The technology is not there yet,” Paterson said. “We’re about a decade away from making it realistic.”