Editor's note: Newsmakers '09 explores the stories that made headlines in northwestern Michigan in 2009. Past articles in this series can be read online at record-eagle.com/newsmakers.
TRAVERSE CITY -- Michigan is on the renewable energy bandwagon and the buzz word is wind.
Spinning blades on giant wind turbines may become a more frequent scene across the state and potentially offshore in Great Lakes waters. Utilities are investing in windmills locally and a Norwegian company recently proposed an offshore project just south of Ludington.
Wind energy isn't just a bunch of hot air, said Ed Rice, executive director of public utility Traverse City Light & Power.
"It's going to take a lot of planning and financing, but I think it will be very valuable to Michigan," Rice said.
Light & Power signed a 20-year purchase agreement this year for wind power generated by five of 10 new turbines to be built next year at Traverse City-based Heritage Sustainable Energy's Stoney Corners Wind Farm in Missaukee County. It's part of the utility's plans to secure 30 percent renewable energy sources by 2020.
A new state mandate that requires utilities to provide at least 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2015 is spurring a recent flurry of wind energy plans and projects, both on land and offshore, said Martin Lagina, Heritage's chief executive officer.
"It's generated a lot of activity. The reality factor has gone up," he said.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm established the Great Lakes Wind Council this year. It's charged with developing procedures to review applications for offshore wind projects and determining the best locations to place windmills on the water. In September, the council reported the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will need new guidelines from lawmakers to consider offshore projects, work that may launch a new renewable energy industry in Michigan and allow the state to reap financial benefits of leasing Great Lakes bottom lands to earn royalties.
Lagina, who is a council member, said sorting out new state regulations and bottomland lease rates for offshore wind is "on a fast track."
"I think Michigan is being very pro-active. To be ready is very smart. It's a huge resource. There are very steady, strong winds on the Great Lakes," he said.
Michigan's potential offshore wind capacity is as much as 321,000 megawatts, while onshore generation capacity is about 16,500 megawatts on average, according to studies. Most coal-fired power plants generate between 125 and 1,000 megawatts.
Offshore projects, like the $3 billion proposal for the Ludington area in Lake Michigan, must receive approval from both the DEQ and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in addition to local officials.
The Corps has not yet received any offshore wind applications, including the proposal near Ludington, said Rachel Nys, a project manager in the Corps' regulatory office in Detroit.
Land-based wind projects are already burgeoning in the state's Thumb region, where land easements are being snapped up by major utilities like Consumers Energy and DTE Energy.
John Sarver, a supervisor with the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, said both wind energy generation and parts manufacturing can be part of the state's solution to ongoing economic woes. It's an opportunity to re-tool manufacturing plants and keep workers employed, he said.
"The global industry is growing and a lot of Michigan companies are participating or could participate as suppliers," Sarver said.
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