ENVIRONMENTAL. ECONOMIC. EMOTIONAL.
The Issues With Project Icebreaker Just Keep Coming
A Massive Industrial Wind Turbine Corridor with 1450 giant wind turbines, each one rising 479 feet above the lake surface, is planned to be installed within 5 to 8 miles off the Lake Erie Shoreline right here in North East Ohio.
Environmental
The effects that Project Icebreaker will have on human environment are uncertain.
There is uncertainty to potential impacts on Lake Erie’s already fragile ecosystem
Wind Turbines are known to harm birds and wildlife. Millions of birds cross Lake Erie during migration periods each year. Lake Erie was named a “Globally Important Bird Area” by the Audubon Society. Lake Erie is also habitat to endangered and threatened bird species.
Wind turbines are known to leak oil, grease, and industrial lubricants [SOURCE: https://www.michigansthumb.com/news/article/Oil-leaks-at-wind-turbines-in-the-Thumb-not-a-9150402.php; https://dailycaller.com/2017/03/03/dirty-secret-behind-wind-turbines-they-need-lots-of-oil/; https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-12/wind-power-pollution-turbine-oil-seeps-into-the-land-in-mexico]. Each of the proposed turbines will carry 404 gallons of industrial lubricants in their gearboxes. Where will the leaked lubricants go? Our Lake.
The Block Island Wind Farm, in the ocean off of Rhode Island, has found that “the area where the cable lines extend to the mainland, it’s completely devoid of fish. These used to be fruitful fishing grounds.” [SOURCE: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/03/16/plans-for-massive-offshore-wind-farms-stir-fears-among-fishermen/hzti6ZJw71WNmqFtLJepJI/story.html]
Don’t let this be another “Mistake on the Lake” moment for Ohio.
Demand for an Environmental Impact Statement by supporting our cause.
Economic
Offshore wind turbine maintenance costs are 3-4x higher than onshore.
The useful life of a turbine is about 15 years, being generous, at which point many need to be decommissioned and removed. California has thousands of turbines that are abandoned and falling apart. Who will be paying this bill?
LEEDCo claims that Project Icebreaker will create “8,000 new good-paying jobs,” but that claim is linked to an Icebreaker document that details their plans to develop 5,000 megawatts of wind power on Lake Erie by 2030. This plan would require a wind farm consisting of 1,400-1,500 wind turbines.
Project Icebreaker’s own Environmental Assessment (EA) indicates a potential for 496 jobs during the build-out of Project Icebreaker’s six wind turbines.
-
- 159 jobs are temporary onsite construction and development personnel
- 187 jobs are supply chain industries supporting the development
- 150 are for supporting industries “through the spending of additional household income.“
- SOURCE: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/09/f55/EA-2045-LEEDCo-Final%20EA-2018.pdf
Project Icebreaker is estimated to create nine [9] full-time equivalent jobs
SOURCE: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/09/f55/EA-2045-LEEDCo-Final%20EA-2018.pdf
-
Lake Erie tourism, including vacation home rentals and lodging, is a $14 Billion per year industry. A recent North Carolina State University study shows that over half of vacationers would not rent if offshore wind turbines are in sight. [SOURCE: https://cenrep.ncsu.edu/2016/04/03/offshore-wind-tourism/]
Cleveland Public Power and Cuyahoga County have agreed to buy Icebreaker’s power for a price “not to exceed” $181 per megawatt hour. Power from the grid is currently available at $34 per megawatt hour. [SOURCE: https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2018/01/icebreaker_wind_project_in_cle.html]
Don’t let this be another “Mistake on the Lake” moment for Ohio.
Demand for an Environmental Impact Statement by supporting our cause.
Emotional
Millions of Ohioans and non-Ohioans alike visit Lake Erie every year to fish, vacation, and enjoy the lake. What will happen with the Lake if Project Icebreaker becomes reality.
LEEDCo/Fred Olsen Renewables/Icebreaker Windpower, Inc. state that Project Icebreaker is a 6-turbine project. However, they also describe a vision of producing 5,000 megawatts of power using wind turbines on Lake Erie, which would require 1,400-1,500 wind turbines to produce. Project Icebreaker is a pilot project to test the feasibility of this vision.
Don’t let this be another “Mistake on the Lake” moment for Ohio.
Demand for an Environmental Impact Statement by supporting our cause.
Deceitful Public Communications
Project Icebreaker was started by LEEDCo, a non-profit based in Cleveland.
LEEDCo signed an agreement to sell their “assets” to Fred Olsen Renewables, of Oslo Norway. This makes Fred Olsen Renewables the owner of Icebreaker Windpower, Inc.
Icebreaker Windpower, Inc’s most valuable “asset” is a 50-year Submerged Land Lease with the State of Ohio, giving them the rights to the area where the turbines and power cables will be located in Lake Erie.
This provides a foreign-entity with the rights to the land under Lake Erie
LEEDCo/Fred Olsen Renewables/Icebreaker Windpower, Inc. state that Project Icebreaker is a 6-turbine project. They also indicate a vision of producing 5,000 megawatts of power using wind turbines on Lake Erie, which would require 1,400-1,500 wind turbines to produce. The organization is not clearly communicating their plans for the future development of offshore wind power on Lake Erie.
Don’t let this be another “Mistake on the Lake” moment for Ohio.
Demand for an Environmental Impact Statement by supporting our cause.
TOGETHER WE CAN SAVE LAKE ERIE.
Our mission is to ensure that our great natural resource (Lake Erie and the Great Lakes) is protected, properly managed, and supported by all residents, so that our communities can benefit from it now and into the future. Save Our Beautiful Lake and its supporters are pro-alternative and clean energy.
However, it is our belief that prior to launching a project of this magnitude, appropriate testing and assurances must be in place.
EVEN MORE…
The Icebreaker project poses a threat of environmental disaster to Lake Erie. In addition to the well documented harm to birds, fish and our economy, Fred Olsen Cos, who controls LEEDCo has severe financial problems and recently revealed technical design problems with their mono bucket foundations which has resulted in a recently cancelled project. This is the same mono bucket technology that Icebreaker has proposed in their application
See:
TORONTO, March 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Northland Power Inc. (“Northland”) (TSX: NPI) today is providing an update regarding the installation of the two turbines utilizing mono bucket foundations (“Demonstrator Project”) at its Deutsche Bucht offshore wind project. As announced on February 25, 2020, the installation of the Demonstrator Project was paused in the fourth quarter of 2019 following the identification of technical issues….Northland has elected to permanently forego the installation of the Demonstrator Project.
Icebreaker through LEEDCo is controlled by Fred Olsen Renewables. There is a signed purchase and sale agreement with LEEDCo as seller and Fred Olsen as Buyer. The deal has effectively closed. Fred Olsen is funding LEEDCO thereby assuming all their economic interest in Icebreaker. If Icebreaker ever gets built, the purchase and sale will be complete. However, Fred Olsen is utilizing the shell non-profit company status of LEEDCo to shield them from liability and avoid having to revise their applications listing them as the owner. Does the OPSB want to become party to and allow this shell game to continue? Isn’t it the OBSB’s fiduciary duty to ensure this project has financial backing to handle issues that always come up. If this arrangement isn’t so dubious why is it such a big secret? We’ve heard the Performance Bond explanation. However, Performance Bond payoffs are fought all the time. There is an entire legal practice around fighting Performance Bond payoffs. We don’t believe the OPSB should expose Ohio’s most significant and internationally recognized natural resource to all these risks.
Additionally Fred Olsen cos is facing mounting financial distress. Their Energy subsidiary filed for bankruptcy and their Cruise ship line is facing massive Coronavirus liability.
See also:
June 26, 2019 OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian oil and gas rig operator Dolphin Drilling filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, leading creditors to seize its key assets.
Formerly known as Fred. Olsen Energy, Dolphin Drilling ASA had debt of just over $1 billion at the end of 2018 and a net loss for the year of almost $300 million, its annual report shows.
Once a dominant supplier of drilling rigs to oil and gas firms exploring the North Sea, Dolphin was hit hard by a collapse in oil prices from 2014 to 2016 as well as competition from newcomers that drove down rig rates.
See also:
March 18, 2020 (CNN) — A British-operated cruise ship left stranded in the Caribbean when people aboard became sick with coronavirus has finally docked in Cuba after a fraught search for a port that would accept it.
The MS Braemar arrived in Mariel, west of Havana, early on Wednesday, with passengers expected to be transferred to airplanes for transport home to the UK on the same day.
Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, which operates the vessel, confirmed four aircraft had landed in Cuba ready for the rescue operation. The first flight was set to depart at 6 p.m. local time.
The news follows a frantic few days in which the MS Braemar searched for a place to dock, following refusals from several ports in the Caribbean.
On April 15, 2020 In Insurance Marine News, Keep, Marine Liability, Retail
Eight crew members of Fred Olsen Lines cruise ship Black Watch (IMO 7108930), which has been moored in the Firth of Forth, have tested positive for coronavirus. The ship has no guests on board and had been operating with reduced crew levels. She was one of four cruise ships, the others being Balmoral, Boudicca, and Braemar, that had been anchored near Rosyth after the firm suspended cruise operations in the middle of last month.
It has become evident that the future viability of Fred Olsen Cos is in serious jeopardy. Additionally the technical design of their proposed Icebreaker giant turbines has resulted in another turbine developer abandoning the technology altogether. Add this to the numerous detrimental environmental and economic effects this Icebreaker development will have on Lake Erie and Ohio’s economy and you have, what should be, an easy decision. We beg the Ohio power Siting board to decline to issue a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need to this Icebreaker project.
We urge Governor DeWine to request an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on this project.
Why is an Environmental Impact Statement needed?
Project Icebreaker is the first freshwater (non-ocean or sea) offshore wind turbine project in the world. This project will set a precedent for how the Great Lakes and other freshwater sources can be utilized for wind power in the USA and world-wide. If a project of this magnitude and with this level of scrutiny is proposed, it is our right and responsibility to mandate that every necessary measure is taken to ensure the project’s feasibility, the safety for our environment, and the wellbeing of our wildlife and natural resources.
There are Environmental and Economic issues with Project Icebreaker.