BY STEVE ZABROSKI, Times of Northwest Indiana Correspondent
HAMMOND | Wind power from a pair of turbines proposed for the Wolf Lake area should provide education about sustainable energy for students, as well as electricity for city parks.
The $100,000 demonstration project, funded partially through a $24,250 grant from the Indiana Office of Energy and Defense Development with the remainder from the Hammond Port Authority, received a favorable recommendation from the Board of Zoning Appeals this week.
"Hammond's going to be on the forefront of green energy," said Steven Sersic, attorney for the port authority with the Dyer law firm of Rubino, Ruman, Crosmer, Smith, Sersic & Polen.
Plans call for two 98-foot towers with 23-foot propellers that will each provide up to 10 kilowatts of electricity to power the Forsythe Park pavilion, the guard house at Wolf Lake Park, and lighting at both parks.
And any electricity left over can be sold to NIPSCO at a profit to the port authority, Sersic said.
The southern tower will be adjacent to the boat launch ramp at Wolf Lake Park, and directly across Calumet Avenue from the Environmental Education Center, according to blueprints for the project.
Sersic said students will be able to see the turbine's blades move from the center, which will be connected to the facility with a real-time display of how much electricity is being generated, and the cost savings resulting from the use of renewable energy.
The northern tower would stand near the Forsythe Park pavilion. Both towers would be at least 1,000 feet from the nearest home.
Whiting wildlife advocate Carolyn Marsh expressed concern to the zoning board that the towers would interfere with Wolf Lake's nationally recognized importance as a habitat for migrating birds.
The wind turbines are dwarfed by other structures around them, said Hammond-based architect William Hutton, who said that nearby cell phone towers stand 120 feet tall, NIPSCO high-tension transmission lines soar at 300 feet, and even lights at the adjacent Clark High School football field are 94 feet tall.
Zoning officials approved a special use permit for the wind turbines under conditions that the towers be maintained, that they be removed if no longer in use, and that no advertising be put on them.
Pending required final approval by the City Council, Hutton said the turbines could be up and in operation within 45 to 60 days.