LORDSTOWN, Ohio – Those traveling Lordstown village roadways Nov. 3 may have witnessed an uncommon sight – a 650,000-pound natural gas turbine strapped to a giant mobile carrier inching its way along Bailey Road or state Route 45.
Its destination was the future site of the Trumbull Energy Center, a more than $1.2 billion natural gas-powered electric generation plant under construction just off Route 45.
The turbine was shipped into Lordstown by rail and took nearly six hours to navigate the short distance to the site, Mayor Arno Hill said.
“That’s the first turbine for the project,” Hill said. “They should be up and running within three years or less.”
The turbine was carried on top of a 72-wheel motorized platform manufactured by Goldhofer, based in the United Kingdom. Edwards Moving and Rigging handled the move.
A second natural-gas turbine is scheduled for the new electrical plant. And a secondary steam turbine will also be installed there.
Approximately 15 other components will be delivered to the site in a similar fashion over the next year. Siemens Energy manufactured the turbines.
The Lordstown School District will collect half the income tax from the 500 construction jobs created as a result of the project, Hill said. The village received a payment of $890,000 after the project closed on its financing. The village and the school district would also receive direct payments from the project once the plant is operating.
On Oct. 19, the Ohio Power Siting Board approved developer Clean Energy Future-Trumbull LLC’s application for a certificate of public need and environmental compatibility to move forward with the plant. The board also approved its application for a second amendment to the certification.
The project has stirred opposition from within the village over the past two years. In July, the village filed a complaint before the power siting board requesting it suspend work on the gas-fueled electrical plant because of noncompliance.
The complaint was dismissed with prejudice during the Oct. 19 meeting after the board found “there are no reasonable grounds to initiate a staff investigation pursuant to allegations raised by the village of Lordstown in its complaint.”
Pictured at top: The 650,000-pound natural gas turbine was strapped to a giant mobile carrier.