Steve Garbacz, Commercial Review County Reporter

The chairman of the Jay County Renewable Energy Task Force made one thing clear this morning - a wind farm will be built in Jay County before the end of 2012.

It's going to happen," said Bob Lyons, a Pike Township farmer who has been at the vanguard of the county's push to get the farm.

Lyons said the farm, which would be contained mostly within Pike Township (south-central Jay County), should boast 67 turbines in Jay County and 20 across the county line into Randolph County.

The prospective farm is being developed by American Electric Power, which completed a data-gathering phase last year and is currently conducting other testing and studies in preparation for construction.

Although no official plans have been released, Lyons said he's confident the farm will be built and that it will happen before the end of 2012 because that's when federal tax credits for wind energy projects expire.

"They're going to get these tax credits," Lyons said of AEP. "If you read between the lines, it's going to be done before (December 2012)."

Wind energy is one front on which the county is continuing to push to expand in the "green" energy sector.

The county already contains the POET ethanol plant southwest of Portland, solar-powered heaters have been or will be installed at various government-owned buildings and electricity is being generated from methane produced by decomposing trash at the Jay County Landfill.

Lyons said the task force has even looked into power generation from manure, but he said the inputs and technology aren't yet feasible.

"Jay County could be a leader in that (green) industry," he said. "We're trying to develop every source of renewable energy we can."

Lyons said AEP is investing more than $20 million in transmission lines to carry power generated in Jay County to places it can be used. That investment must come before the $2 million per turbine cost for equipment and supporting infrastructure.

Although AEP will likely be granted 10-year tax abatements on the turbines, which would reduce the amount of tax revenue received over that period, other counties with wind farms have worked out agreements with the developer for up-front cash - in some cases as much as $1 million - during development. The county's wind ordinance, which AEP has agreed to, also requires a $20,000 inspection fee per turbine.

For landowners, any turbines on their property will warrant $4,000 per megawatt per year for their land, with increase of 2.5 percent each year.

On the job creation front, Lyons added that about every nine turbines built would create a permanent job for the county for maintenance and temporary jobs in road construction, security and other areas would be created during the building process.

The project could also lead to several road improvements in the county, since the developer must replace any roads it breaks down to an as-good-as or better condition from when construction started.