How is the proposed wind farm for Oceana County coming along? “It’s kind of on hold,” said Richard Vanderveen, president of Mackinaw Power. Vanderveen said his company has been “working like crazy the last four years to get the sites, the interconnects, get the wind studies …” and with those in hand, he’s waiting for Michigan to become the 25th state to approve an RPS, or Renewable Portfolio Standard. The move would ease some of the zoning issues that proposed wind farms are facing.

With legislative and regulatory action this year in Lansing supporting alternative energy, Michigan’s leading wind energy proponent is ready to start building in 2008 the first of 90 wind turbines planned for Oceana County. Mackinaw Power President Rich Vanderveen said his company has secured 35 leases from farmers in four Oceana townships: Weare, Elbridge, Hart and Crystal. That makes 5,000 acres of farm land available for the General Electric wind turbines Mackinaw Power plans for the north central part of the county. Mackinaw Power also has secured a connection agreement with the Michigan Electric Transmission Co. and has the zoning issues resolved in two of the four townships, Vanderveen said. His company already operates two wind turbines in Mackinaw City.

Sherman Township residents packed township hall to learn about the future of wind power generation in their community. The Sherman Township Planning and Zoning Commission conducted the public hearing in relation to a special land use permit application from the Traverse City-based Heritage Sustainable Energy. The application requested permission to install a 164-foot meteorological tower for the purpose of measuring wind speeds. Heritage was given the go-ahead to install the tower after more than an hour of public discussion. The company has operated a similar tower in Missaukee County’s Richland Township for the past two years. “Nobody can predict what the wind speeds would be, so we’re trying to measure throughout this high plateau,” said Rick Wilson, Heritage project manager. The area of interest also includes Highland Township and Clam Lake Township in Wexford County.

HURON COUNTY — The Residents for Sound Economics and Planning (RSEP), of Ubly, have asked Huron County Planning Commission members to reconsider the county’s Wind Turbine Overlay Zoning Ordinance. “We’re asking the planning commission revisit the zoning ordinance to avoid future lawsuits … (as) there are many lawsuits going on around the country pertaining to turbine development,” said Angie Weber, the group’s representative, at Wednesday evening’s planning commission meeting. RSEP commissioned a sound study of three sites in the Ubly area to assess Land Use Compatibility and Community Reaction to the Noble Thumb Windpark Project. Weber said the study was conducted by Richard James, an acoustics expert who has more than 35 years of experience in Community Noise and a former member of the American National Standards (ANSI) Noise S12 Working group that oversees ANSI Standards for Community Noise. She said the study found the data collected by developers regarding the sound levels in the Ubly area are inaccurate and inadequate.

The head of the Michigan Public Service Commission says the state must triple the amount of electricity residents gain from wind and other renewable resources within a decade. WDET’s Quinn Klinefelter has more… The Public Service Commission’s J. Peter Lark predicts the demand for electricity in Michigan will rise by more than one percent every year for the next two decades. He says that requires a renewed emphasis on wind power and other renewable sources of electricity. Lark sent a proposal to Governor Jennifer Granholm espousing renewable energy rather than what he calls electricity that comes from volatile and expensive wholesale markets. The Commission is also proposing that the state build a new power plant within eight years.

LANSING -- Michigan needs a major new power plant by 2015 to handle increased electricity demands, according to a report today to the governor on the state's future energy needs. The report was released by the Michigan Public Service Commission, a state agency that oversees utilities. The new plant, which would be built by one of the big utilities, would likely be a coal-fired facility although the report leaves open the possibility of a nuclear plant down the road.

The percentage of Michigan’s electricity that comes from wind and other renewable resources would nearly triple by 2015 under an energy plan submitted Wednesday to Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The proposal also outlines a roadmap to building a new coal-fired power plant within 8 years. “Michigan is going to need more power going forward into the 21st century,” said Michigan Public Service Commission J. Peter Lark, who created the plan.

DTE Energy is getting into the wind business. The utility, which relies mostly on coal to supply electricity to 2.2 million people in the Thumb and Southeast Michigan, has been talking to farmers in Huron County about leasing their land for windmills and may even open a development office there, company officials said. DTE also is soliciting proposals from renewable energy developers to power a proposed GreenCurrents program, which would allow customers to pay a premium to get all or some of their power from renewable sources like wind, solar, geothermal and biomass. The bottom line is, Detroit-based DTE plans to invest millions of dollars in renewable energy in Michigan in coming years. The Thumb area, with its strong winds, stands to benefit, said Len Singer, a DTE spokesman.

Our hydro production is really what is called "pseudo-hydro." We pump water up to storage reservoirs during non-peak demand times, then let it flow down and make energy during peak demand. Unfortunately, it actually takes more energy to pump the water uphill, than is made by flowing downhill. Wind power is not much valued because peak Michigan wind production times are spring and fall while the peak demand is summer. So wind gives us power when we don't need it. Michigan is classified as a "good" location for solar energy, but it sure isn't cheap.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm vetoed a wind energy tax credit that Midland Republican Rep. John Moolenaar proposed. Moolenaar said Friday he hopes state lawmakers and the governor will agree to encourage "renewable energy." He thinks the veto was "more symbolic than anything else," he said. Granholm's veto letter said the state "continues to face enormous fiscal challenges" and should be on solid fiscal footing before offering tax incentives. On Thursday she also vetoed a bill that would have provided a tax incentive to people who donate to umbilical cord stem cell banks and other unrelated tax incentive bills. Another veto killed a bill to give incentives that supporters said were meant to preserve farmland in Michigan.

Michigan is exploring ways to grow its alternative energy industry and provide a boost to economic development, but coal-fired power plants are expected to produce most of the state's electricity through at least 2030. The rest of Michigan's electrical power comes mostly from nuclear power plants or natural gas- or oil-fired power plants. A very small percentage of the state's power comes from wind turbines and other renewable resources.

The state Legislature wrapped up its 2005-06 session Thursday and early Friday by sending dozens of bills to Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Among them: WIND POWER: A bill that would offer a tax credit for harnessing wind energy overwhelmingly passed the House and is headed to Granholm’s desk. The legislation would provide a tax credit of 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour of energy generated for a taxpayer who owns a windmill or wind turbine, with no taxpayer receiving a credit of more than $750,000 per year.

If Moolenaar’s House Bill 4647 becomes law, a taxpayer owning a small wind turbine in Michigan to generate energy could claim a tax credit of 1.5 cents a kilowatt hour generated in a tax year.

Michigan’s 21st Century Energy Plan is to be released by the end of the year, and utilities and environmentalists are weighing in on what the program should contain. State regulators are considering whether a certain percentage of Michigan’s electricity must come from renewable fuel sources such as solar, wind and hydroelectric. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have targets, with dates, for renewable energy sources, ranging from 1% to 25% of total power. For example, Illinois recently adopted a voluntary standard of 25% of energy from renewables by 2017. Michigan utilities currently generate less than 8% of their electricity from renewable sources.

DTE Energy says it didn't find out that three 80-foot-tall windmills were being installed at a Thumb elementary school until after they were already up and running. The claim is part of a report filed with the state this week about the process of interconnecting three 65-kilowatt windmills at Laker Elementary School near Pigeon to the electrical grid. The report was required as part of a state investigation spurred by concerns over a DTE-ordered shutdown of the windmills on Sept. 20. In its report, the utility lays blame on the project developer, who the company says didn't file the proper interconnection applications on time.

Commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday adopting a county-wide ordinance regarding on-site wind turbines. The move actually revised the Huron County Zoning Ordinance by adding language that clarified the use of “overlay” zoning techniques on land in the Agricultural District and providing standards for on-site wind energy systems (wind turbine towers) and related wind assessment devises. The amendment allows for on-site turbines — that are not for commercial purposes — and would not require a special use permit, said Russell R. Lundberg, director of building and zoning.

OLIVER TOWNSHIP — The township planning commission Thursday voted to approve a special use permit for a utility grid wind energy system in its agricultural preservation zoning district. Brian Crawford of RMT, Inc. of Grand Rapids spoke on behalf of Michigan Wind LLC during the planning commission’s public hearing regarding the development of a project which may lead to the installation of 27 wind turbines in Oliver Township. Michigan Wind also has developed a project which may lead to the installation of five turbines in neighboring Chandler Township. “The area is a prime (location) for wind energy development,” Crawford said. “This (Huron County) is one of the better areas in the state for hosting wind energy.”

BINGHAM TOWNSHIP — Noble Environmental Power doesn’t plan to get its windpark off the ground any time soon, but when it does, the company plans to erect the entire 32 turbines originally slated to be installed. “We’re actually hoping to go forward in the spring with the original 32 instead of the seven, and we’re hoping to move forward with the full park and get back on track with our original plans,” said Noble Development Manager Jeanette Hagen. “We’re basically just ironing out all the red tape with the transmission. Otherwise, we’re ready to rock and roll.”

Construction of the county’s second planned Wind Energy System may begin in coming months. RMT, Inc. of Grand Rapids currently is developing a project which may lead to the installation of 32 turbines in Oliver and Chandler townships. Construction of the turbines will not begin until the company receives the go ahead from the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) to connect to the national grid system and from township, county and state officials. MISO studies the electrical system’s carrying capacity, so as not to overload the system which causes blackouts. The company has to go through a series of steps at the township, county and state level before proceeding with the project.

Spurred by idled windmills at Laker Elementary School near Pigeon, the Michigan Public Service Commission has launched a statewide investigation into the interconnection of independent power projects with electric utilities.