Is the Halted Effort to Put Wind Turbines in Lake Erie Being Revived?

Peter Krouse | cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Could the once-ambitious plan to install wind turbines on Lake Erie be resurrected?

It’s possible, local wind power advocates believe, now that a Maryland company called Mighty Waves Energy has taken control of Icebreaker Windpower Inc., which two years ago aborted its effort to erect six wind turbines off the coast of Cleveland.

It’s not clear what the acquisition might mean, but Mighty Waves is in the business of developing wind turbines that float in the water. It has been collaborating with Cleveland design and innovation firm Nottingham Spirk. 

Mighty Waves Energy has developed floating technology platforms for offshore wind turbines.

“It is certainly very early in our research and due diligence stages for Mighty Waves Energy,” said Mark Hessels, CEO of Mighty Waves in an email. “I can share that we are currently engaged in discussions regarding the Icebreaker Wind Demonstration project, and while it is too soon to determine its future, we see this as a promising opportunity.”

Mike Foley, administrator of Cuyahoga Green Energy, the county’s power utility, said he recently spoke with representatives of Mighty Waves and Nottingham Spirk and they indicated they were having positive conversations with a potential buyer of all the electricity that would be generated by a project they are envisioning.

Foley declined to name the potential buyer and said he was not sure of any timeline Mighty Waves was working under.

The quest to place turbines in the lake began two decades ago and was propelled forward by the Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo), which eventually turned Icebreaker over to Fred. Olsen Renewables USA, a subsidiary of a Norwegian firm.

Icebreaker overcame several regulatory hurdles as well as intense opposition from the birding community to win approval for the project from the Ohio Power Siting Board in 2020.

After a final legal appeal by project opponents was denied by a 6–1 vote of the Ohio Supreme Court in 2022, Icebreaker was cleared to proceed.

Now, with the emergence of Mighty Waves Energy, it appears there is renewed hope of bringing wind power to Lake Erie.

But by then, the delays had crippled Icebreaker’s momentum. And while Cleveland and Cuyahoga County had agreed to purchase about one-third of the energy the turbines would have produced, it had become difficult for Icebreaker to find additional buyers of the power.

An effort to get the Republican-controlled Ohio General Assembly behind Icebreaker also failed, which cast a disapproving pall over the project. Eventually, Fred. Olsen pulled out and what was left of a $50 million Department of Energy grant to help fund Icebreaker was returned to the government.

Now, with the emergence of Mighty Waves Energy, it appears there is renewed hope of bringing wind power to Lake Erie.

“It’s premature to say what direction this is going but there is an interest in the project,” said Steve Dever, a local attorney and member of the LEEDCo board.

LEEDCo issued a statement saying that “given all our work over the past decade, we continue to be hopeful that this could be a significant economic win for Ohio. We are encouraged by Mighty Waves’ interest given their strong technological capabilities and experience in advancing innovative energy solutions.”

Notice of Icebreaker’s sale, which was completed Dec. 31, was posted on the docket of the Ohio Power Siting Board on Jan. 28.

In 2020, the Power Siting Board issued Icebreaker a certificate to begin construction. That certificate, which remains in effect for five years, now rests with Mighty Waves, which has until May 21 of this year to act on it, said Matt Schilling, spokesman with the Power Siting Board.

Mighty Waves’ 1/30 scale prototype undergoing testing.

Mighty Waves could seek an extension of the certificate, he said. Other options could be to submit a new application or an amendment to the current certificate, depending on the design changes that may be contemplated.

One would assume that permits associated with the project, including those related to the geology of the lakebed and to environmental concerns, would carry over to a new developer, said Will Friedman, who was on the LEEDCo board when he was the president and CEO of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority.

“I still support the advancement of wind energy in Lake Erie,” said Friedman, who is no longer involved in the project. While the Trump administration has stated its clear opposition to wind energy, that may not factor much given the location of the turbines would not be in federal waters, he said.

Icebreaker was marketed as a pilot project to see if wind turbines could function on the lake and withstand the rigors of frozen water. The original technology was scrapped after it was determined not to be viable, but whatever was being contemplated involved connecting turbine towers to a platform on the lakebed, Friedman said.

Mighty Waves, which has a presence on the Nottingham Spirk website, is developing floating technology. The website states that Mighty Waves “has developed and validated two hybrid semi-submersible offshore floating wind platforms” capable of supporting wind turbines of various sizes.

To learn more about this opportunity, contact Joel Hessels at Mighty Waves Energy.

About Nottingham Spirk
Nottingham Spirk is a world-class product innovation firm with an unrivaled record of developing and commercializing disruptive consumer products, medical devices, digital IoT products and connected industrial products. We collaborate with Fortune 1,000 companies, middle market companies and funded venture companies to discover, design and execute product innovation programs and strategic business platforms that will delight customers, grow markets, and generate new revenue streams. Learn more about our innovation approach.