A commercial wind energy farm that could supply power to thousands of homes is being considered for southeastern Fillmore Township, officials said Monday, Sept. 22. The wind farm would be east of M-40 and could have between 35 to 40 wind turbines, said Ken DeWeerdt, township clerk. ..."It's nothing definite," DeWeerdt said. Fillmore Township hasn't discussed the topic at a township board meeting yet, but officials are supportive of alternative energy. "We have ordinances in effect that will accelerate the installation of the turbines," DeWeerdt said.

The first of 46 windmills was erected Saturday for Noble Thumb I Windpark near Ubly, a project of Connecticut-based Noble Environmental Power. ...The project is southeast of the 32-turbine Harvest Wind Farm, which became the state's first commercial wind park last year.

The numbers sound good, but the details still need to be worked out regarding the state's new energy plan passed by the legislature this week. Part of the plan includes a renewable energy standard, which at least one wind turbine developer had hoped for. Rick Wilson, project manager for Heritage Sustainable Energy, said the adopted standard that requires 10 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2015 is "a good standard."

Michigan is the nation's 14th windiest state, according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth. Thirty-two wind turbines went into operation in Michigan in 2008, bringing the state total to 35. Two more wind farms are currently being constructed. So Rockford can harness some of that natural power and ... well, not so fast. "We don't usually recommend it in Rockford," said Mark Bauer, owner of Bauer Power in Wayland. The company specializes in the installation of solar and wind energy systems. "The month to month wind speed is too low."

Local officials are anything but happy with legislation they believe will pre-empt local government control of wind development systems. The legislation is Senate Bill 213 — which is the renewable energy package that’s been one of the most talked-about issues/pieces of legislation needing to be passed in Lansing. ...there never was an intent to pre-empt local governments, said Rep. Jeff Mayes (D-Bay City), who serves as vice chair of the House Committee on Energy and Technology, and also is the House’s leading negotiator for renewable portfolio standard and energy efficiency.

Lawmakers may be close to finishing up a state energy plan, but that's not stopping critics from going after details of a requirement in the bills to use more renewable energy. Although making Michigan less reliant on traditional sources of electricity is seen as a laudable goal, the timeline and price tag of the new renewable requirements are causing disagreements. Critics say the bipartisan plan being negotiated is "unforgivably expensive." They say they wonder why customers would be charged more up front before seeing extra green power. ..."Too little information on the cost of these bills is being made available to lawmakers," he said.

They won't be as tall as some; and they won't power many homes. But by spring, two wind turbines could rise more than 125 feet above the Lakeshore landscape. The Zeeland Board of Public Works is planning to become the first West Michigan utility to bring electric-generating wind turbines online. The effort comes amid a flurry of efforts to turn wind into electricity, from a proposal announced last week that would power thousands of homes in the Manistee area to much smaller efforts such as Zeeland's.

Saying it's only fair, Michigan lawmakers plan to raise residential electricity bills and drop business rates so all customers are charged the true cost of their power. But when it comes to figuring out who should pay what for new renewable energy requirements, the playing field wouldn't be even. Though residents account for one-third of Detroit Edison's electric sales, they would contribute nearly two-thirds of what Michigan's largest utility could collect from customers for wind and other sources of alternative power under bills that have passed the House and Senate.

Two months of recording wind data from a 60-meter tower south of Blissfield has officials of Great Lakes Wind LLC feeling encouraged. The company is moving early to lease farm property where commercial wind turbines could eventually be built, said chairman Larry Gould. Work on lining up leases was prompted more by other developers showing interest in a wind project in the area than the preliminary results from weather equipment, he said. ...Wind data available so far all encourages continued exploration of a commercial project, he said. Numbers are confidential at this point, he said.

White Pines Wind Farm, a subsidiary of BP Alternative Energy, has applied for a special land use permit with the U.S. Forest Service to place 20-28 wind turbines, each 420 feet tall, in the forest north of Forest Trail. The road leads from U.S. 31 to the Lake Michigan Recreation Area. Huron-Manistee National Forest spokesman Ken Arbogast said the number of wind turbines depends upon further investigation by the company and the forest services. "Basically it will depend on how many they need to make the project economically viable," Arbogast said.

Mark McConnell is close, but not close enough. He owns 3.44 acres of property and wants to install a 51-foot wind turbine. Unfortunately for McConnell, his property happens to fall in Presque Isle Township, where 4 acres are required and turbines can only be 40 feet high.

The ordinance allows wind towers of up to 30 feet in residential and open space zones. Anything taller, up to 60 feet, in those zones would require a special-use permit from the Planning Commission. In commercial and office zones, towers of up to 45 feet are allowed. Anything taller, again with a maximum of 60 feet, requires a permit.

In a 3-2 vote Aug. 7, Elbridge Township officials approved a zoning amendment to allow for wind turbine generators. ...The move wraps up a whirlwind of activity in the township over the last six weeks. Michigan Wind LLC in conjunction with John Deere Wind Energy proposes a $150 million, 30 turbine generator wind farm for the western side of the township on a north-south line approximately one-half mile east of 116th Avenue. The units would be owned and operated by John Deere Wind Energy.

Michigan's Thumb sprouted the first on-shore commercial wind farm last year. Are windmills over the water next? Saginaw Bay would sport the state's first offshore windmills under a plan by Steve Smiley, the self-described stepfather of wind power in Michigan.

By Friday, Taylor expects to review the latest data from a pair of 50-foot-tall meteorological towers in the city's north and south ends to determine if the city will move ahead on a $3 million plan to install up to five wind turbines as early as next year. The towers, at the northwest corner of Monroe and Ecorse and at Racho near Interstate 75, have been recording wind speed, direction and temperature since installed in August and October.

The DeWitt City Council doesn't expect a lot of wind turbines to be raised in the next month or so, but that didn't stop it from placing a 90-day moratorium on the construction of the structures, said city administrator Brian Vick. After participating in a planning and zoning training session at Michigan State University last month, Vick said he and other city officials are trying to keep ahead of the curve in regards to renewable energy.

A 197-foot tall meteorological tower would have a 380-foot diameter footprint and measure wind speed, duration and other information to determine whether an industrial grade wind turbine should be installed on Windmill Island Gardens. DeZwaan windmill is 125 feet tall. The island has its own zone tied to a fizzled-out plan for a village there with homes, businesses and other amenities. The zoning there would allow a structure up to 160 feet tall. The Holland Zoning Board of Appeals approved a variance to allow the 197-foot tower Thursday, July 24.

They were made by more than 80 construction workers who have come to the Ubly area to build the Noble Thumb I Windpark, a project of Connecticut-based Noble Environmental Power. The prints lead to 46 holes that have been dug in farm fields in Bingham and Sheridan townships, where the wind usually blows about 15 mph. Each hole will be the site of a 1.5-megawatt General Electric wind turbine, towering more than 300 feet over the skies of Huron County. The development, being constructed by RMT WindConnect of Wisconsin with local and out-of-state contractors, should begin spinning later this year, officials say. It's southeast of the Harvest Wind Farm, a 32-turbine park constructed last year near Elkton by John Deere Wind Energy.

The manager of Land Use Informatics at the Michigan State University's Land Policy Institute cautioned local officials and residents last week about signing and zoning away their land, saying wind developers are eyeing agricultural areas such as the Thumb in the same manner 49ers did during the gold rush. "And there's an awful lot of people selling shovels," said Charles McKeown on Wednesday during a four hour-long Lake Township Planning Commission meeting at the Sleeper State Park's Outdoor Center.

That moratorium - which was adopted in March - was created so the planning commission would have time to study issues dealing with siting, noise affects, health concerns, possible property value decreases and other problems the board fears could arise if not properly addressed in the township's ordinance, said Lake Township Clerk Valerie J. McCallum. "If a land use has the potential to disrupt one person's life in the community, the township should spend the time and money to do what is in the best interests of the community," reads the township's March 31 minutes which included the discussion and adoption of the moratorium. ...Before the planning commission writes a wind ordinance, there still are some questions that need to be answered, McCallum said. Those questions left to be answered include (1) what effects, if any, would wind turbines have on existing property values within the township, and (2) what possible effects, if any, would the turbines have on the health of the citizens living in proximity to any turbines.