Click below to listen to the audio version of the story from Michigan NOW.
A state body recommending the rules for windmills on the Great Lakes met with the public on March 25 near Bay City. The legislature is starting to debate this issue. No other state has offshore wind yet and the race is on. The Granholm Administration considers offshore wind crucial to economic development. But people that own lakefront property have already organized against it. Michigan Now’s Chris McCarus reports.
The Great Lakes Offshore Wind Council was chosen by the governor. About 5 members of it did a presentation March 25 at Saginaw Valley State University. They’re biggest concern is convincing shoreline home owners that windmills on the water won’t be ugly. James Clift is a lobbyist for the Michigan Environmental Council. He’s also a member of the council.
“The bottom line is the state has to make this decision up front. Do we want to lease this parcel to a wind developer? So we want the best information possible when we’re trying to answer that question. If we see impediments to a wind farm going in we need the information for the state to say you know we think that site has so many problems that we don’t want you to look there any further.”
The council has a new mapping tool. It uses 22 criteria to narrow down the best places to set up windmills on the lakes. Here’s some of what they’re watching out for: shipwrecks, shipping lanes, recreational fish spawning, commercial fishing, bird and bat flyways, coastal airports, buoys and large river mouths. Mike Klepinger is a staff consultant to the council. He had the 80 people in the room vote with little hand held clickers.
“How do you think this project will affect aesthetics of the lake view? We’ve already asked you a little bit about aesthetics. Strongly benefit, benefit, no effect, harm, strongly harm or unsure.”
As the voting was tallied instantly, Klepinger found that most people are worried about how windmills would look on the lake.
“30% no effect. 25% strongly harm and 27% harm.”
This group spends many days of the year on the Great Lakes. They want to support offshore wind. They tend not to like coal, gas or nuclear plants. But they’re concerned about birds, bats, air quality and paying for electricity. It’s not clear what new sources of power they would approve of. Jeff Hoenle is from Sterling Heights. His family owns a vacation home near Pentwater. A Norwegian firm has proposed a wind farm on the lake near there. They would invest $4 billion. I asked Hoenle if he was a NIMBY…someone fighting a new project. Not in my backyard.
Hoenle is heading a property rights group called protectwithpower.org. They’ve poured in thousands of dollars. They’ve hired a Lansing lobbyist and lawyer to stop the project in their area. People on the other side of the issue say a whole new industry is at stake. From the towers, blades, gearboxes, transmission lines, even shipping. Will it be in Michigan or somewhere else?