A new lawsuit claims Ohio’s massive utility bribery scandal torpedoed the Great Lakes region’s first offshore wind farm. (Canary Media)
Lake Erie Energy Development Corp. (LEEDCo) is suing FirstEnergy for over $10M, alleging the utility’s bribery scheme killed the “Icebreaker” wind project off Cleveland’s shore.
The suit claims FirstEnergy paid $4.3M to Sam Randazzo (then chair of the state PUC) to secure favorable treatment. In 2020, Randazzo’s board unexpectedly added a “poison pill” to the wind farm’s permit—a requirement to shut down turbines every night for 8 months a year, effectively rendering the project financially worthless.
The cost: By the time the restriction was lifted, investors had fled, and the project collapsed. Lawyers argue this was a “hit job” to protect FirstEnergy from competition.