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.

Nystrom owns 150 acres and was one of about 150 people who gathered at West Shore Community College Wednesday night for an informational workshop about wind energy. People came from Mason, Manistee, Oceana and Lake counties to learn about wind energy and, from one of the speakers, how they may profit from it.

"The financial benefit, that's part of it, but I'm more interested in the power for the community," Nystrom said.

Wednesday's workshop included presentations by Jim Breinling, Michigan State University Extension director for Mason County, Mason County Zoning and Building Director Mary Reilly and Dr. Stephen Harsh of Michigan State University's department of agricultural, food and resource economics.

Breinling began the meeting talking about current wind farms in Benton County, Indiana, and spoke about setbacks and other restrictions on the placement of towers in that state.

He said the commercial towers in those wind farms are made of three 80-foot sections with a total height of 362 feet to the top of the blade.

Economics

Harsh talked about global warming and the politics of energy that may lead to reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases, about the viability of wind power as an energy source to replace fossil fuels, and about factors needed to make wind towers viable on certain properties.

He said Michigan has areas - along the coast of Lake Michigan, in the Thumb area and along Lake Superior - that are good for wind energy production.

Among the factors necessary for the location of wind towers are:

• a steady source of wind

• someone to buy the power

• access to a grid substation for utility-scale turbines

• adequate transmission lines for moving power to where it is needed

• local approval

Zoning

Reilly said zoning is a necessary for development and installation of huge wind towers can make impacts on noise, roads and visual aesthetics.

Mason County has had zoning requirements in place for wind towers for years, but Reilly said county officials are currently considering changes to the ordinance.

Right now, the county has a setback requirement of twice the height of the tower from neighboring property lines for utility-scale towers - considered by the county as anything above 150 feet.

Reilly said towers under 66 feet tall are allowed as permitted uses in most of the county's zones, with the exception of high-density residential areas such as mobile home parks.

Towers between 66 and 150 feet, she said, can be built if the county grants special-use permits.

She said the county is now considering establishing a setback requirement for towers 150 feet tall or shorter, making the setback 1.5 times the tower height.

Mason County also has a noise clause, requiring that the sound of wind turbines be 45 decibels or less at property lines. Reilly said the county is considering raising that to 55 decibels.

Wednesday's workshop was important, Reilly said, because there has been a lot of interest recently in the wind over Mason County.

"There was quite a bit of activity this winter," she said, adding that Consumers Energy, Clipper Wind Power Development and at least one other company have been approaching people about leases for siting towers on their land.

"I got a lot of calls," she said.

Leases

Harsh also spoke to Wednesday's crowd about leases for placement of wind towers on their properties.

The most important thing to remember, according to Harsh, is to hire a lawyer to look over any potential leases.

"And not just any lawyer, it should be someone with experience with gas and oil leases," he said. "They would know what to look for."

Among the issues people should consider before signing a lease, Harsh said, are: what are the long-term plans for the property, the length of the lease, what compensation is offered, who is responsible for liability issues, and who is responsible for property taxes on the equipment.

Harsh also told the crowd to remember they are not selling a small part of their property, they are selling wind energy over that property for an extended period of time.