Gov. Jennifer Granholm last week toured the 32-turbine Harvest Wind Farm between Pigeon and Elkton in Huron County's Oliver Township. She says the sheer size alone of a turbine is an economic opportunity for Michigan. ...But one crucial ingredient is missing - a law requiring that a certain amount of the state's electricity come from renewable sources such as wind. Twenty-five states have what's known as a renewable portfolio standard, or RPS, and a few others have voluntary goals. ...Senate Energy and Technology Chairman Bruce Patterson could be key in determining the fate of renewable requirements. He says he won't stand in the way of the 10 percent requirement passed by House because there are safeguards to eliminate the mandate if green power costs too ...He also expresses concern about a Standard & Poor's report on power produced by wind. It's still an "infinitesimal" fraction of all electricity, according to the report, which last month raised concerns about the feasibility and cost ramifications of forcing U.S. utilities to comply with renewable mandates. Costs eventually show up on the monthly bills of residents and businesses.

Proposals for five new coal-fired power plants have state environmental lobbyists on fire. In sites near Midland, Rogers City, Manistee, Alma, and Marquette, companies have applied to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for air quality permits needed to start the construction of coal-fired power plants, as recommended by the Public Service Commission's 21st Century energy report released in early 2007. ...Should the state forgo the construction of those plants, however, it would have to depend on out-of-state electricity at a higher cost, said Doug Roberts, executive director of environmental energy policy at the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. "We want energy here in Michigan," Roberts said. ...From a jobs standpoint, more people are employed at a power plant than at a wind turbine or other alternative energy plants, Roberts said. "Power plants would provide several hundred jobs to the community that people will work in every day," Roberts said.

More than $22,000 in wind-metering equipment has been ordered and meetings begun with land owners in the Blissfield area, where property may be leased for a wind farm project being pursued by newly formed Great Lakes Wind LLC. ...Gould reported on progress of the wind power project Thursday to that committee. The fixed costs involved in setting up a wind generation project are so large that small projects are less feasible, he said. "You've got to get enough turbines into it to cover your costs," Gould said. One major expense is bringing in large cranes needed to mount 53-ton turbines on the steel towers, he said. Legal costs for organizing a project are estimated at $100,000, he said, regardless of the number of turbines that would be installed. Great Lakes Wind is preparing to start documenting wind power potential in the Blissfield area.

Many people raised their hands Wednesday night to say they plan to install wind turbines on their properties, or to allow a company to place a wind turbine on their property. "I've heard about those for a while and I'm interested in saving energy if we can and making it cheaper," Neil W. Nystrom of Manistee County's Bear Lake Township said about his interest in wind energy.

City officials are preparing an ordinance that would allow residents and companies to operate wind turbines. A handful of townships in Michigan have ordinances that specifically address turbines, but few cities have followed suit. Officials in the city's community development office are studying the issue as residents become interested in using alternative energy sources. ...Heights are being worked out, but TV antennae are allowed to be 70 feet tall. Maher said the city wants to strike a balance where residential turbines would be high enough to be effective without posing a threat to neighbors if they topple.

But state officials do not have a clear picture on how readily the state's electricity transmission infrastructure could accommodate the added load - a proposed 2,500 megawatts in the Lower Peninsula and 520 in the UP - from new wind-generating sources. A 2006 report from MPSC found that barring "significant enhancements," existing electric generation and transmission capacity would be insufficient to meet reliability standards in the Lower Peninsula by 2009. The MPSC is working on a study with transmission-owning companies to determine the cost of updating Michigan's transmission system. "If we do this smart, and that's a big leap of faith right there, where we see the wind being developed is where they need to build transmission anyway," said Joseph Welch, president and CEO of Novi-based ITC Holdings Corp.

Rogers City residents who have an opinion regarding a proposed wind turbine ordinance for the city will have the opportunity to speak up at April's planning commission meeting Members of the Rogers City planning commission voted unanimously during their Monday evening meeting to set a public hearing regarding the proposed ordinance. In addition, a six-month moratorium was passed, barring all wind turbine projects within the city until the commission is able to study the issue further. "This is something that requires a lot of study and careful thought," said City Manager Mark Slown.

It was standing room only at Thursday's wind energy meeting where landowners learned information about signing leases and the potential for strength in numbers when it comes to forming a group to get the most value for their land. Steve Harsh, Michigan State University professor and extension farm management specialist, gave an in-depth overview of wind power renewable energy for the future, as well as landowner guidelines for evaluating wind energy production leases, to the roughly 100 in attendance at the Scheurer Professional Center in Pigeon.

Attorney General Mike Cox on Tuesday blasted legislation he said would significantly raise electricity prices, re-monopolize Michigan's market and not do enough to cap the cost of wind and other green power. Cox, a Republican, commended Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm for pushing renewable energy measures. But he said the effort shouldn't be tied to bills that would limit competition from alternative power companies and change the way big utilities raise electric rates and pay for new plants. No bill can become law unless the full package is signed. Cox also said Granholm is exaggerating the job-creation potential of a renewable portfolio standard, or RPS, which would require that 10 percent of the state's electricity come from green resources by 2016. "We're loading it up with Christmas lights and trying to say it's something more than what it is," said Cox, arguing than an RPS should be touted only for its environmental benefits.

Michigan's drive to renewable energy is generating concern about higher electricity prices. The issue: How, and at what price, will utilities or other energy providers build or purchase renewable power to meet a proposed state mandate that 10 percent of power come from renewable sources by 2015? "They really have to start going to town in a short period of time. And doing that, whether they're building or buying, there will be an additional expense that comes with it. And that's going to come back to the ratepayers," said Chuck Hadden, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Manufacturers Association.

If Michigan is to join 25 states requiring that more electricity come from renewable sources, the Legislature must sort out all kinds of issues -including the price tag. Compared with existing power from old, already-paid-for coal plants, renewable energy is more expensive. The House is considering capping residents' extra costs at no more than $3 a month, or $36 a year over 20 years, which could let power companies off the hook for meeting the renewable energy requirement, known as an RPS. Under legislation pending in the House, commercial customers would pay no more than $190 a year more, while the cap for industrial customers would be $2,250.

Concerns about wind turbines include them toppling over and the noise they make. Baumann said the planning commission will likely address how close turbines can be to property lines, provide a decibel limit and may define in which districts they may be located. Developers for the Great American Sports Complex, a proposed $100 million sports facility in the township, have said they may use a turbine to power some of the facility. Mark Knudsen, director of the Ottawa County Planning and Grants Department, said he is monitoring how many townships have regulations about wind power.

Martin Lagina, a principal owner of Heritage with longtime business partner Craig Tester, said there are three necessities in creating a viable wind energy project. The first is a sufficient wind source, the second is support from the surrounding community and the third is proximity to major transmission lines. "All three of those things came together in Missaukee County at Stoney Corners," Lagina said. Michigan has sufficient winds to support numerous wind farms, but many of those sites are along the state's Great Lakes coastline, where wind tower aesthetics create concerns for some. "Along the coast is great, but along the coast is also controversial," Lagina said.

City officials say they are making strides in the quest to build one of the nation's first urban wind farms. This week, Wyandotte plans to submit results from a one-year avian study to the U.S. Department of Energy. The findings, coupled with results gathered from two meteorological towers, are encouraging for plans to construct five turbines near the Detroit River, said Melanie McCoy, the city's general manager of municipal services.

A downstate development company plans to find out how much electricity is available in the air above Stanton Township. Traverse City, Mich.-based Heritage Sustainable Energy LLC has been securing leases from property owners along the ridge that stretches from Liminga to Oscar Bay for the purpose of developing wind generation there. ...Wilson said lessors are receiving a "relatively nominal payment" at the outset of the lease. If a wind farm is developed, Wilson said, property owners would receive royalty payments for the power generated by turbines on their land. Wilson said Heritage Sustainable Energy is currently developing a wind project in Missaukee County. He said two 2.5-megawatt wind generators will be installed this year with six more planned for 2009. He described that development as a pilot project.

The provincial government of Ontario has lifted a ban enacted more than a year ago on offshore wind energy developments and will soon resume accepting applications for such proposals, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources announced. "This government is committed to developing clean, renewable sources of energy so Ontarians will have a sustainable supply of power now and in the future," Natural Resources Minister Donna Cansfield said in a statement Jan. 17. "Offshore applications we've received to date will be processed, and we are preparing to accept new applications for both onshore and offshore developments."

Supporters say wind energy is both plentiful and renewable, thereby reducing need for fossil fuels, while opponents cite inefficiency, threats to birds and bats, noise, and unsightly landscapes. Although energy companies, such as Heritage Sustainable Energy, have been casing the Ridge for nearly two years, actual construction of a wind farm is still years away, said Rick Wilson, project manager. "We are very close in the Fruit Ridge area to having enough land secured to put in a MET (meteorological evaluation tower)," he said. "We try to assemble a block of land of significant size, about 3,000 to 5,000 acres plus to accommodate a wind farm of several turbines." The next step is to test for adequate wind.

Wind testing is to begin soon in the south of Lenawee County, thanks to a $20,000 contribution approved Friday by Lenawee County commissioners. A motion to spend the money for wind power testing passed by an 8-0 vote after more than an hour of discussion with alternative energy consultant David Munson and members of the county's agricultural advisory committee. The committee asked for $20,000 from the county treasury to pay for setting up a single tower to monitor wind for one year. Private investors are to come up with money to establish a second test site approximately three months later. ...Having the county government involved in collecting data for a feasibility study will help allow a local, private enterprise to organize and develop a project, Munson said, similar to the ethanol plant in Blissfield that grew from a county government study. "We're trying to make sure the first wind power project is open to public investment," Munson said.

The former chairman of alternative energy company McKenzie Bay International Ltd. claims the alleged unauthorized stock transfer that precipitated his resignation this month was to pay a contractor. Gary Westerholm, 63, of Brighton, was replaced as chairman and resigned his board seat following a discussion with other McKenzie Bay board members regarding a stock issue of 30 million shares. ...The board alleges Westerholm obtained the shares of stock from a company transfer agent by claiming he had board authorization to issue shares, when he did not. But Westerholm said Friday he secured 28 million shares to pay Brighton-based MTI Energy Management Inc. on a contract involving a wind turbine project in Ishpeming.

Michigan’s first commercial wind farm –a collection of 32 towering turbines that conjure visions of H. G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds”—is scheduled to begin operating in a few weeks, spurring for some a near-gold rush mentality in this sparsely populated area. Thousands of dollars in a guaranteed annual harvest comes with each windmill placed on a farmer’s land, and that lure has gone a long way toward interrupting the horizontal sameness of vast corn and bean fields. “I can’t wait ‘til they get going,” said Bob Webber, who turned over easement rights to a portion of his property in Huron County for a proposed second wind farm, with 42 turbines. ...The support, however, is not unanimous. In the northernmost part of the county, along the shoreline of Lake Huron, critics have raised objections about the windmill’s potential impact on birds and property values. This is a lake resort area, popular in the summertime. It’s an eagle nesting site and part of the migratory path of thousands of tundra swans. “Our township is unique because it is resort and agricultural,” said Louis Colletta, the planning commission chairman for Lake Township. The township last month rejected DTE’s request to set up testing towers to measure the speed and consistency of the wind.