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Illinois may be up to bat next to build first Great Lakes wind farm after Cleveland drops project
Before millions of Americans installed solar roofs, before towering wind turbines became a common sight in Midwestern skies, before electric car giant
Small but seemingly unstoppable, the
Along the way, there were victories: Icebreaker Wind secured a
But a few weeks ago, the Icebreaker team finally admitted defeat, with an announcement that the project had been indefinitely suspended due, in part, to lack of funding.
“We just don’t have a path forward right now,” said
The fall of Icebreaker is a blow for those who dream of clean energy flowing in from the
But experts and Icebreaker insiders told the Tribune that the pioneering Icebreaker project faced obstacles specific to its advancing age, relatively small size and lack of state support — obstacles that other projects, including one being considered in
The
“Chicago probably could lead the way, and in some ways is leading the way” in the race to build the first
The
“Some people think this is (just) a cute little thing we’re doing for energy,” said state Rep.
“We’re building the infrastructure to power the world,” Evans said.
The Icebreaker era
From a clean energy perspective, offshore wind is better wind: faster and more consistent, with a smoother flow, according to
“You get less electricity out of the same turbine on land,” Nemet said. “It’s just the difference between having the smooth surface you have on water versus hills and buildings and terrain that introduce turbulence.”
And the advantages of offshore wind don’t stop there.
With wind turbines getting bigger, developers can avoid daunting transportation challenges, such as fitting huge trucks under bridges. Offshore turbines can be built at specialized ports and hauled directly to installation sites by barge.
Offshore turbines, which can be situated 15 miles or more from land, are less likely to interfere with scenic views or cause aesthetic complaints, Nemet said. And they can be placed relatively close to major population centers such as
Icebreaker would have benefited from such advantages, as well as the
But Icebreaker experienced delays in 2020, when
The poison pill was added despite testimony from state experts that a nighttime shutdown was unnecessary, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
“That was a very damaging blow,” said
The regulators backed down, but they had already delayed a project that had to meet
Another set of delays was caused by a lawsuit filed by citizens with environmental concerns. Icebreaker emerged victorious in a 2022
In the end, Icebreaker essentially ran out of deadline extensions from the
“It’s disappointing,” Friedman said. “A lot of people worked hard over the years to try to advance the project.”
Still, he remains optimistic about the future of
Icebreaker would have produced enough electricity to power about 7,000 homes.
Friedman noted that the proposed
And he pointed out that Icebreaker was conceived as a relatively small demonstration project that — due to its size — couldn’t pay for itself. At this point, he said, it probably makes more sense to go with a big, economically viable project.
The
The
Friedman, the president and CEO of the
“I think with the interest that’s been sparked in
Jobs, money at stake
To make a wind turbine you need to bend steel, turn screws and grind gears.
“It’s the stuff that the industrial Midwest has historically done,” said Stuebi, and workers in this region have the right skills for the jobs that will be created.
There could also be money for the state of
Most of that money has gone to the federal government, but in the
“(States) would presumably be able to keep a lot of the (lease) money,” Musial said. “That hasn’t been worked out yet, but I would think that would be an incentive to at least look into it.”
Offshore wind can serve big cities like
One option — referenced in the
Offshore wind farms have been supplying power to
“I think we will see wind power on the
Large floating turbines could be installed about 15 miles offshore in the
Among the challenges: There has never been a commercial-scale floating wind farm built in waters that freeze in winter.
Sheets of ice as big as
“We’ve done design studies and it doesn’t appear to be an insurmountable engineering problem, but because it hasn’t been done yet, there’s uncertainty about the things that might occur,” Musial said.
Passing the torch
There are also regulatory issues: States would have to set rules for wind farms, perhaps by adopting federal regulations. A government report co-authored by Musial recommends forming a
The report also recommends holding workshops to allow discussion among the affected states, set research priorities and encourage regional partnerships.
Musial said that given the technical challenges and regulatory gaps, it will likely be at least eight to 10 years before we will see a wind turbine operating on the
“I think what happens next is some kind of regional dialogue among the states that want to do this,” he said.
Icebreaker could, technically, be resurrected, should a new source of funding appear. But Friedman doubts that the project, in its current form, will ever be built.
“Too much time went by,” he said. “That’s part of the whole story of the demise. When you begin planning and designing something many, many years ago, technology changes during that time frame. Costs change. And you get to the point where you almost have to start over.”
As for
He knows his next step, though: drumming up support for his bill.
“It’s all about moving the ball along,” he said.
nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com
©2023 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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