The speaker is set, the invitations are out.

Now all Paul Hunter wants to know is, will the landowners show up?

“There’s a lot of potential,” said Hunter, for a wind farm (in the sense of “farming” the wind) to be built in the eastern portion of Clinton County. The wind blows strong enough there for turbines to be commercially viable, he says.

“Over the long run, it’s not steady jobs,” he said, “but there’s a steady return to the community, to the farmers and to the government” in the form of payments for leasing the land the turbines are built on. Land near the turbines could still be farmed, he said.

Hunter has planned a meeting to teach the community about the pros and cons of wind turbine power generation. A representative from the wind power industry will speak for a few minutes and answer questions. But Hunter says he is not “pushing one company over the other.” The company represented, Everpower Wind Holdings, currently is working to build a wind farm in Champaign County in west-central Ohio.

Neither is the upcoming meeting “a forum for or against windmills, or for or against ‘green,’” Hunter said. “There will be forums for that later. This is just informational,” to present “how much money can be made, and the downsides and liabilities.”

The wind farm meeting will directly follow a meeting of the Clinton County Regional Planning Commission. The commission’s meeting will be held at the regular time at 6 p.m. on May 19 but held at the location of the wind farm meeting, East Clinton High School. The wind farm meeting will start at 7 p.m.

Hunter sent out 120 invitations: to landowners with 100 or more acres in the target area, to elected officials, to local site-construction companies like those in concrete and excavation whose services would be needed to erect turbines. The public also is encouraged to attend.

“Interested public are welcome,” said Hunter, “Because they can contribute. There’s always somebody that knows more than somebody else.”

But the landowners are the key to the equation, Hunter said. If under 20 landowners show up, the project may not be worth continuing.

“I won’t go ahead unless there’s the interest, you know,” he said. By “go ahead” he means offering his research and the evidence of community support to wind farm developers and big-city media outlets. About seven landowners have phoned Hunter with positive responses. There are no negative responses so far, he said.

Hunter is retired, so he has time during business hours that he doesn’t have to spend job-hunting. Recently, he has spent it doing research on the wind patterns of Clinton County.

The speed of wind in the eastern portion of the county is, on average throughout the year, above 14.5 miles per hour at turbine height — which is about 30 meters. Those conditions meet the requirements for viable power generation, Hunter said.

Where is this “wind corridor,” as Hunter calls it? It’s roughly bordered by State Routes 72 and 73 and continuing north in that trajectory.

A way of providing electricity with little environmental toll, wind power has several enticing positive sides as well as aspects that turn some people off. Some view the towering windmills as unsightly. And the humming noise from just one turbine can be heard for some distance.

Hunter thinks the potential pros outweigh the cons. According to the letter he sent to land owners, here are the reasons for supporting a wind farm in Clinton County:

1. Bring a revenue-generating enterprise to the county.

2. Provide rural landowners with an additional and reliable source of income while maintaining an agricultural base.

3. Provide additional tax revenues to local governments.

4. Provide short-term jobs and local supplier opportunities for the county during the installation phase.

5. Encourage turbine manufacturers to locate at the county.

6. Provide an alternative and clean source of energy to aid in weaning the nation off fossil fuels, including foreign oil.

7. Provide an opportunity to partake of the federal and state financial incentives earmarked for alternative energy.