A helicopter delivered the first 60-foot section of the pole on which three wind monitors will be mounted that will help gather data about the feasibility of utility-scale wind farms on Lake Erie. The helicopter hovered over the Cleveland crib for about ten minutes as a 6-person crew scrambled to steady the swaying pole and fit it through a hole in the crib roof. City of Cleveland sustainability manager Andrew Watterson describes the process.
Andrew Watterson: Yeah, they have it. Now they're trying to fit it in through the 20-inch hole on the roof of the deck. The pole will go in through the roof of the crib and go down nine feet to the third-floor deck of the crib.
There was applause as the pole went home. But thick haze delayed the installation of the second section of the 125-foot tower. Once the tower is complete wind monitors will begin sending data back to shore via computer. Green Energy Ohio plans a series of public meetings to discuss wind power during the two-year study. Karen Schaefer, 90.3.