Currently, there are no wind turbines generating electricity in Grand Ledge, and there are none planned. But, when and if someone decides to build one, the city plans to be ready. "The primary reason the Planning Commission wanted to proceed was to have something in place to protect the public should somebody choose to put in a wind conversion device," said Grand Ledge Mayor Kalmin Smith.

A draft Renewable Energy Source ordinance submitted to the City Planning Commission at its meeting Aug. 4, is on the planners' agenda on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m. ...Helmlinger said the city is concerned about the safety and aesthetics of wind turbines and solar panels mounted on roofs of homes. The ordinance will control design and installation of wind turbines, including visual appearance, and will limit its height. The noise level is limited, and shadow flicker from the turbine blades must be minimized.

In the Champagne household, there are two opinions on the whirling wind turbines that surround the family's home of 35 years. Gene Champagne is bothered by the thumping, rumbling sound of the blades that loom like giants over the house. The noise disturbs his sleep and destroys his TV reception. Flickering shadows from sun on the blades run around rooms. ...Opponents say tighter restrictions are needed. The wind industry says tougher rules will keep wind farms out of Michigan.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm has dreams of bringing as many as 4,000 wind turbines to Michigan, making it the nation's 14th windiest state and a major player in wind power to attract green jobs and investment. But some people who have turbines as neighbors are pushing back against the winds of change, the Detroit Free Press reported Sunday.

The Lake Township Board voted 3 to 2 to remove Planning Commission Chairman Louis J. Colletta and Planning Commission Member Tim Lalley from the local planning commission. ..."Don't do it to these volunteers, they'll suspect you'll do it to other volunteers," said Lake Township Resident Paul Miller. It was argued that this was being done because of the township's on-going effort to create a wind turbine ordinance, as Lalley and Colletta have been extremely protective of the township from wind turbine development.

Over the objections of land owners in the county, the Winona County Board has voted to move forward with a plan to develop a wind turbine project and sell its power to Exel Energy. Everyone at the public hearing agreed that clean renewable energy is a good thing, but many questioned the appropriateness of the county becoming a business owner of wind energy rather than a facilitator for its county residents to do so.

After hearing from several dozen Michigan residents about the benefits and drawbacks of wind turbines, a state panel said it wants more information about the best places to build wind energy parks. The Wind Energy Resource Zone Board has tentatively identified four regions in the state.

Representatives from BP appeared before the Montague Township board last Tuesday evening to discuss the township's wind turbine ordinance. Stephen Pulich, business developer for BP Alternative Energy, is heading up the effort to put a wind farm in the area. BP purchased the assets of Okemos-based Wind Energy Conversions last December. Pulich said BP is considering a wind farm in the area of Claybanks, Grant and Montague townships.

One of the primary goals of the Huron County Wind Energy Subcommittee is to help create a complaint resolution procedure, so those who are experiencing issues with wind turbine parks can expect a swift response and resolution. A draft of this process, introduced at last week's subcommittee meeting, currently is being reviewed. ...The draft details the channels through which complaints can be made, what happens if a complaint is not resolved in a timely fashion, and actions that can be taken by the county board of commissioners if deemed necessary.

About 60 people took time out of their day Monday to hear a presentation and give comments to the state's Wind Energy Resource Zone Board. ...One thing Walter stressed over and over again throughout the hearing was that people shouldn't focus on individual properties included or excluded in the report. The board's charge was to identify on a "macro" scale where the best potential wind and available land coincide. It eliminated sensitive areas, areas around airports, assumed a setback of one mile for Great Lakes shorelines

Community leaders from throughout Presque Isle County gathered Tuesday morning to hear updates on the proposed Wolverine power plant project from company officials. The meeting left little doubt that the project is moving forward. Company spokesman Ken Bradstreet outlined the current state of affairs for Wolverine and the permitting process it faces yet in its quest to build a 600 MW power plant near Rogers City. ...Baker explained that alternative energy sources simply cannot keep up with a growing demand, much less impact a significant portion of the current need for energy in Michigan. He said the new wind turbine farms in Michigan are currently producing about one-quarter of one percent of the total energy needs for the state despite three years of effort and hundreds of millions of dollars.

Epsilon Associates, Inc. of Massachusetts will be conducting a noise study at the Michigan I Wind Park next month, and the study was a focal point of conversation during the Huron County Wind Energy Subcommittee meeting. Russ Lundberg, Huron County Building and Zoning director, said he and Kurt Damrow, Huron County commissioner and head of the subcommittee, met with Rob O'Neal of Epsilon Associates earlier this month. The company was hired by John Deere Wind to complete the wind turbine noise study.

A wind energy ordinance breezed through the village's Planning Commission process Tuesday night with no objections. Commissioners unanimously approved the ordinance, modeled after suggested Ottawa County language. Village Council will make a final decision on it, possibly as early next month. The Planning Commission made a few changes to the county model - including reducing height restrictions from 120 feet to 50 feet.

There were a flurry of opinions either in favor or opposed to the Thumb becoming a designated wind energy resource zone given Monday during the first of two public hearings that will be held in the state this month. There was standing room only at Monday's meeting, which was held at the Expo Center in Bad Axe. The meeting is part of an effort to receive comment from four regions in the state identified as having the highest level of wind energy harvest potential in a June 2 proposed report by the Wind Energy Resource Zone Board.

"This facility has been open for almost a year and it was built to do green components," said Jeff Metts, President of Dowding Machining. They're building components like wind turbine parts and platforms, that Gov. Granholm continues to tout, she toured Dowding Industries back in 2007, after it was awarded a state grant to build a new facility. "It is a very difficult market right now," Metts said.

There's been a shift in direction for a Bear Creek Township man's efforts to harness wind power for electricity. ...[Ken] Harrington took his seat Sunday as the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians' new tribal chairman. "This is a full time job and a public service job," he said. "Any business activity outside the tribe for the next four years for me would be a conflict of interest. Therefore, I am dissolving my businesses and I will be shutting down my wind turbine project."

Determined not to sink along with other links in the auto-supply chain, family-run Dowding Industries Inc. borrowed $12 million to leap into the "green" future and leave the dirty assembly line behind. Almost two years later, Dowding has built the plant and bought the machines to make parts for wind turbines, providers of clean energy intended to help the U.S. become less reliant on foreign oil. But so far Dowding has found little demand. ...With smaller volume, fewer workers are needed. And it is unlikely that the wind turbine industry will create enough jobs in the near term to offset the thousands of jobs lost in the auto industry.

Backed by research showing that Michigan's Thumb is among the breeziest areas in the state suitable for wind farm development, officials will travel to Bad Axe on Monday to hear from residents about the pros and cons of the towers and turbines beginning to dot the farmland of Huron County. Michigan's Wind Energy Resource Zone Board is overseeing efforts to target places to develop wind farms. The group's recent report identified four areas.

While the Huron County Wind Energy Subcommittee had expressed hope a state university would take the lead on a comprehensive heath study on the effects of wind turbine noise, it learned last week it's unlikely. Before last week's meeting, several subcommittee members met with Dr. Alfred Franzblau, University of Michigan Environmental Health Sciences professor, via teleconference to discuss the possibility of a noise study.

The city of Grand Rapids has advised Grand Haven Township officials it may ultimately seek permits to erect large wind turbines at the city-owned Lake Michigan Filtration Plant on the shoreline. ..."We've got what we think is enough land there to create some isolation from the homes along the lakeshore, and still be able to capture the lake winds that blow strongly through that area," said Heartwell.