By JOLENE CRAIG
Ohio Correspondent

NOBLE COUNTY, Ohio — For the next several years, American Electric Power Ohio (AEP) will be working to solidify its place in the renewable energy generation, with a solar farm in southeastern Ohio.

The solar farm, to be placed in Noble County, will see construction begin next summer, said AEP Ohio spokesman Jeff Rennie.

“We expect it to take some time before the project is complete,” he said. “It could take several years before it is up and running.”

The Columbus-based AEP said the projected timeline for the end of the project is 2015, which will see all panels in place and collecting solar power. The solar farm is expected to cost the company about $20 million and should produce enough energy to power 25,000 homes, Rennie said.

“The 20-year expected lifetime of the panels is what we are looking at, right now, but that could become 30 or even 40 years as technology improves, so we don’t know how long this solar farm will be in service,” he added.
The plans for the farm include 49.9 megawatts of solar power, with the first 20 MW coming online in the next year, followed by another 15 MW by the end of 2013 and the final 14.9 MW coming in by late 2014, according to a press release. “The energy collected from these panels will be fed into the grid and all AEP Ohio customers will reap the benefits,” Rennie said. “The energy collected will not just go to those living nearby, but will be spread out.”
This project was first announced last October as a joint venture between AEP Ohio, Agile Energy, Inc. and New Harvest Ventures. Agile is a California-based renewable energy developer and New Harvest is a local developer, both of which signed a 20-year contract for the Turning Point project, according to AEP.

The power provider has agreed to purchase energy from this facility for 20 years in order to fulfill state minimum requirements for renewable energy.
The land to be used for this solar farm is 500 acres of reclaimed strip-mined land near the Wilds, a wildlife conservatory, Rennie said. Ohio requires utilities meet 0.5 percent of their power from solar energy by 2024. AEP estimates the plant will be able it to meet this requirement through 2019.

According to AEP, the project is expected to bring a total of 600 jobs into the area, including 300 temporary construction jobs.