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Health & Fitness

LEEDCo Introduces The POWER Pledge to Engage Community in Promoting Offshore Wind Energy in Lake Erie

Members of the public will have their first opportunity to take the POWER Pledge at EarthFest 2013, which will be held from 10am to 5pm on Sunday April 21 at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea.

The Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) is introducing The POWER Pledge  at  this  weekend’s  EarthFest  2013  celebration  to  give  the Northeast Ohio community an opportunity to become directly involved in promoting offshore wind energy in the Great Lakes.

By taking The POWER Pledge, members of the public are pledging to buy a portion of their electricity from offshore  wind  once  Lake  Erie’s  “Icebreaker” demonstration  project  is  complete in 2017. The pledge will help LEEDCo gauge community support and demonstrate a strong market in Northeast Ohio for local clean electricity generated on Lake Erie. LEEDCo will use the pledges to encourage local electricity suppliers to make this premium source of electricity available to their customers, who will have the opportunity to be among the project’s  first customers.

“The  POWER  Pledge  gives everyone in our region a way to  advocate  for  our community’s  future.  The  pledge  is   in response to numerous inquiries we have received from people who want to get involved and show their support  for  the project,”  said  LEEDCo  President  Dr.  Lorry  Wagner.  “Offshore  wind  represents a once in a lifetime opportunity for our region. Icebreaker will not only become a significant source of clean electricity and good  local  jobs,  it  will  become  a symbol of  our  region’s  leadership.”  

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Members of the public will have their first opportunity  to  take  the  pledge  at Northeast  Ohio’s  EarthFest  2013,   which will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday April 21 at Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea. The focus  of  this  year’s EarthFest  is  “celebrating  advanced  and  renewable  energy.”  It  is  sponsored  by the  local  Earth   Day Coalition. People will also be able to sign up for the pledge on the LEEDCo website (www.leedco.org) and at various advanced energy events around the region.

“POWER”  stands  for  “Promote  Offshore  Wind  Energy.”  Specifically,  the  pledge states:  “I  want  to  Promote   Offshore Wind Energy (POWER) by purchasing electricity from Icebreaker,  America’s  first  freshwater  offshore   wind project, located on Lake Erie. We can bring a new industry to the Great Lakes region that improves the environment,  creates  local  jobs,  and  advances  our  nation’s energy security.  I  pledge  to  buy  a  portion  of  my electricity  from  the  Great  Lakes’ first  offshore  wind  project.”

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LEEDCo is developing the five- to nine-turbine  demonstration  project  called “Icebreaker”  seven  miles  off  the   coast of Cleveland in Lake Erie. Icebreaker would be the first freshwater offshore wind project in the nation.

The project has already received a critical round of investment from its private partners and the Department of Energy to fund the initial engineering design and permit application process. In May 2014, the Department of Energy will invest up to an additional $46 million in each of three offshore wind projects that it believes will catalyze the U.S. offshore wind energy industry.

“By taking The POWER Pledge, the people of Northeast Ohio have an opportunity to prove to the Department of Energy and other investors that Northeast Ohio is the perfect location to build the U.S.  offshore  wind  industry,”   said Dave Karpinski, LEEDCo vice president of operations.

About LEEDCo:

Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) is a regional non-profit corporation leading efforts to create an offshore wind energy industry in Northeast Ohio. As a public-private partnership, LEEDCo represents Northern Ohio's public interest in offshore wind and is working to develop an initial 20-30 megawatt (MW) project in Lake Erie seven miles offshore Cleveland with a 1,000 MW target by 2020. Founded in 2009, LEEDCo members include Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Lorain and Lake Counties, City of Cleveland, The Cleveland Foundation and NorTech. | www.leedco.org 

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