The first physical work on Lake Erie’s experimental wind farm begins off Cleveland’s shore next week.

Tomorrow, a specialized barge is scheduled to arrive in Cleveland. The vessel will take soil samples from the lake bed to determine what kind of structures are necessary to support the project's wind turbines.

Dave Karpinski is vice president of the Lake Erie Development Corp., the organization developing the wind farm to prove inland lakes can be energy sources. He says the project’s engineers have soil condition estimates from the site seven miles off-shore. But the actual soil samples are necessary to move forward.