By NICK MORDOWANEC
LANSING -- The state's quest for multiple forms of renewable energy has prompted one university to test the wind.
Grand Valley State University intends to develop an offshore wind project on Lake Michigan to measure wind data, using a $1.4 million grant.
The university's original project plan was to place wind turbines in the Great Lakes, but that plan changed.
"We are not putting wind turbines out there," said Arn Boezaart, a GVSU official. "Funding has not allowed for that to happen. We are developing an offshore project to develop wind data on Lake Michigan, as well as other research information on top of that."
No start date has been announced because "we are still in the process of getting things figured out," he said.
Development of offshore projects on the Great Lakes is an idea promoted by the Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council. The council was created in January to help the Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth analyze offshore wind development.
The center is aided by the West Michigan Strategic Alliance, an organization that promotes alternative energy, for advice about developmental options. How such development will occur remains uncertain.
"Nobody knows how to construct such a project," Boezaart said. "We're looking at a variety of sources and proposals and figuring out the best strategy. It will most likely be a mono-pole structure in the lake bottom."
The purpose is to measure wind speeds and other wind-related data on a year-round basis because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration pulls its buoys from the water from November through March.
"Nobody has ever done this before," said John Sarver, a DELEG employee and chair of the Michigan Wind Working Group.
"Grand Valley State University could provide major contributions as no actual data of wind speeds in lakes are taken because the buoys are not tall enough in height."
The project itself will be no easy feat, Sarver said.
Focusing on offshore wind rather than placing turbines far from the shore would benefit both environment and nearby communities, Sarver said.
"There are many things to consider," Sarver said of the original idea to place turbines in the lakes. "Fish, migratory birds, navigation in terms of shipping channels and disturbing lake bottoms are just some of them.
"And then there are view-shed issues. Do people want to look out at a sunset over the lake and see these large turbines?"
An offshore wind project could study more than just wind data.
"There's a real interest in developing information on bird migration patterns, bat behavior patterns and climate interests," Boezaart said. "We could even do ice studies and see how it impacts the lake."
Nick Mordowanec writes for Michigan State University's Capital News Service.
