WIND’S LAKE MICHIGAN PROBLEM

Whatever happened to offshore wind energy? Five years since Lake Michigan wind turbines proposed

Stephen Kloosterman, Februaqry 11, 2015 (MLive)

“…Five years ago, Scandia Wind created quite a stir by proposing a large wind-energy project…[for Lake Michigan off the West Michigan coast but] the discussion of putting wind turbines in Lake Michigan has been relatively silent since…State officials conducted a two-year study of the issue but their recommendations don't include areas in or near West Michigan…[A] top executive at Consumers Energy said there's not much of a market for the offshore wind energy…However, the idea of offshore wind refuses to die…In 2009, wind energy was…part of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration plan to help the state's economy rebound from the recession…Scandia Wind LLC got the public's attention late that year proposing 100 to 200 utility-sized wind turbines in Lake Michigan…Scandia had hoped to get the Mason County and Oceana County boards of commissioners to support the proposed development, but that sort of formal support never materialized…Another blow to offshore wind energy on the Great Lakes came last year when the U.S. Department of Energy bypassed a grant application for a Lake Erie pilot project in favor of projects on the East and West coasts...And the market seems headed in the direction of on-shore wind energy…” click here for more

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