LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- City Councilman-at-Large Tom Bullock recently presented a letter he initiated to the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) in support of a Lake Erie wind turbine project.

The correspondence shows regional support among elected officials in favor of the Icebreaker Wind project, which, if approved, will lead to the construction of six wind turbines on Lake Erie.

“We have 27 signers from 17 local governments and 16 communities joining together in favor of this project to say we’re for this,” Bullock said. “The significance for Lakewood is that we belong to a regional economy that includes manufacturing. We need to grow tech-based industries that Lakewood residents can get employment in.

“This is a driver for a whole new industry in our region. Cleveland could be first in the Great Lakes, and that really means first in freshwater anywhere, which is a new niche or submarket of the wind industry.”

The support letter details how the Icebreaker Wind project is expected to include more than 500 jobs, with a $253 million economic impact to the region. Looking ahead, the nascent initiative is projected to grow into a $50 billion industry nationwide.

“Lakewood believes in health and in clean energy, but also needs and wants good jobs for our citizens in the region,” Bullock said. “This is a way for us to show some regional leadership. It’s especially appropriate given the strong support in Lakewood for clean, healthy air and new technology.”

Icebreaker Wind strives to be the Great Lakes’ first offshore wind facility, as well as the second offshore wind project in America and first freshwater wind farm in North America.

Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo) is behind Icebreaker Wind. Founded in 2009, the Cleveland-based nonprofit and public-private partnership strives to create a scalable source of renewable energy in Lake Erie, adding jobs and economic prosperity in the region while offering clean energy.

“This is like a test drive,” Bullock said. “You don’t mass produce something without having real-time data. That’s what they’re after. There are no plans beyond this, but what this would do is put Cleveland engineers and companies at the front of the line to know how other projects could be built anywhere in the Great Lakes.”

LEEDCo President David P. Karpinski stressed the importance of the OPSB members hearing directly from stakeholders in Greater Cleveland and throughout Northeast Ohio about how important and impactful Icebreaker Wind will be for the region.

“Icebreaker Wind will create more than 500 jobs and $85 million in economic impact during construction, with an additional economic impact of $168 million over the life of the project and usher in a new source of clean, renewable energy generated locally,” said Karpinski, who noted that LEEDCo has secured all state and federal permits needed to construct and operate Icebreaker Wind -- except for the OPSB’s Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need.

“We’re hopeful that our case will be taken up at the April meeting of the OPSB and that the board will act favorably," he said. "If this final permit is obtained soon, our current plans call for the marine construction work to begin in the summer of 2022 and to be completed before the end of 2022.”

Read more news from the Sun Post Herald.