News
50 to 60 windmills proposed
A national “wind energy developer” hopes to build 50 to 60 massive windmills – each nearly 400 feet tall – on about 8,000 acres of farmland in Centerville Township, and sell “green” electrical power to utilities in the region.
March 2, 2006
by Eric Carlson
in Leelanau News
Noble Environmental Power, with offices in Bad Axe, Mich., as well as in Connecticut and New York, hosted a private meeting at the VFW Hall in Lake Leelanau last week, attended by dozens of Centerville Township property owners whose land may be suitable for installation of commercial-scale wind turbines.
A managing director of the company, Peter J. Mastic, told the Enterprise this week that his firm is in the “very early stages” of discussing the feasibility of such a project with local property owners and is not yet ready to bring a formal proposal before local units of government.
“First, we need to determine if landowners want it and if the township wants it,” said Mastic. “We don’t want to go anywhere we are not welcome.”
Mastic said each wind turbine takes up about three-eights of an acre, allowing farmers to continue farming their land while earning additional income through a contract with his company.
“Our goal is not to change the underlying use of the land,” Mastic explained. “We want to preserve farmland. However, farmers will also be able to farm wind over the top of their land, and earn money for it,” he said.
Centerville Township supervisor Leonard Kelenski, who attended last week’s meeting, reported that Noble Environmental Power representatives said farmers could earn between $8,000 and $10,000 per year for allowing the company to operate a wind turbine on their property.
“Those were the figures that were being thrown around at the meeting, anyway,” Kelenski said. “And some property owners could end up with a number of wind turbines on their land.”
Mastic said his company typically tries to build wind turbines on five acres or more of land. There are about 8,000 acres in Centerville Township that may be suitable for the turbines, he said. The estimated 85 parcels are believed to belong to 69 separate landowners in Centerville Township.
A “wind map” presented as part of the company’s proposal shows that the mean wind velocity at 70 meters above the ground is between 15 and 19 miles per hour in Centerville Township – as high as anywhere on the west side of Michigan where there is a significant amount of open space.
The parcels identified by the company as viable sites for wind turbines are generally along Leelanau County’s “spine” – the high ground on either side of County Road 645 (French Road) running north-south through the length of Centerville Township. According to a plat map prepared by the company, some of the suitable parcels are located as far west as County Road 651 (Good Harbor Trail).
“It’s clear they’ve been doing plenty of snooping around Centerville Township for quite a while,” Kelenski said, “and they’re dangling carrots in front of a lot of farmers.”
Kelenski said Centerville’s zoning ordinance simply does not address the issue of wind turbines.
“If this is what farmers want, then there may not be much we can do to hold them back,” Kelenski said. “If they’re talking about 50 or 60 windmills – that’s a lot of them, and they will saturate the middle of our township,” he said.
Centerville Township farmer Jerry Kelenske (no relation to the township supervisor), said he attended the private meeting with Noble officials in Lake Leelanau last week and was favorably impressed.
“I think this is really a good idea,” Kelenske said. “Everybody’s looking for renewable energy sources, and we can provide it.”
Kelenske raises cattle and field crops on his 200 acre farm on the west side of French Road.
“It sounds like it could be a good deal for me financially although nobody has shown me any specific numbers yet,” Kelenske said.
“And it makes sense that they’d target Centerville Township,” he added. “We’re the most rural township in the county, we have lots of open land, and the wind currents are right.”
Kelenske said he fully expects to hear negative reactions to the Noble proposal, however.
“My guess is that we’ll hear from some part-time residents or tourists concerned about changing the landscape or the view,” Kelenske said. “But for farmers, it’s a good deal.”
Jay Homan, who owns 260 acres of land in the “targeted” area, said he’s not convinced the Noble proposal is a good one, however.
“I’m trying very hard to keep an open mind,” Homan said. “I’m a big supporter of renewable energy. In fact, I have solar panels and a 50-foot wind generator for my own farm, but hardly anybody can see it. A lone windmill in a farm field has a certain appeal. But I don’t know what appeal 50 or 60 towers standing that tall will have. My God, you’ll be able to see them in Leland!”
Homan said he believes the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners should intervene by authorizing a vote of the people on a millage proposal to raise funds for the county’s Farmland Preservation program.
“This is not a Centerville Township issue,” he said. “Farmland preservation is a county-wide issue, and farmers should be given financial options that don’t necessarily involve building commercial-scale wind turbines on their property.”
A managing director of the company, Peter J. Mastic, told the Enterprise this week that his firm is in the “very early stages” of discussing the feasibility of such a project with local property owners and is not yet ready to bring a formal proposal before local units of government.
“First, we need to determine if landowners want it and if the township wants it,” said Mastic. “We don’t want to go anywhere we are not welcome.”
Mastic said each wind turbine takes up about three-eights of an acre, allowing farmers to continue farming their land while earning additional income through a contract with his company.
“Our goal is not to change the underlying use of the land,” Mastic explained. “We want to preserve farmland. However, farmers will also be able to farm wind over the top of their land, and earn money for it,” he said.
Centerville Township supervisor Leonard Kelenski, who attended last week’s meeting, reported that Noble Environmental Power representatives said farmers could earn between $8,000 and $10,000 per year for allowing the company to operate a wind turbine on their property.
“Those were the figures that were being thrown around at the meeting, anyway,” Kelenski said. “And some property owners could end up with a number of wind turbines on their land.”
Mastic said his company typically tries to build wind turbines on five acres or more of land. There are about 8,000 acres in Centerville Township that may be suitable for the turbines, he said. The estimated 85 parcels are believed to belong to 69 separate landowners in Centerville Township.
A “wind map” presented as part of the company’s proposal shows that the mean wind velocity at 70 meters above the ground is between 15 and 19 miles per hour in Centerville Township – as high as anywhere on the west side of Michigan where there is a significant amount of open space.
The parcels identified by the company as viable sites for wind turbines are generally along Leelanau County’s “spine” – the high ground on either side of County Road 645 (French Road) running north-south through the length of Centerville Township. According to a plat map prepared by the company, some of the suitable parcels are located as far west as County Road 651 (Good Harbor Trail).
“It’s clear they’ve been doing plenty of snooping around Centerville Township for quite a while,” Kelenski said, “and they’re dangling carrots in front of a lot of farmers.”
Kelenski said Centerville’s zoning ordinance simply does not address the issue of wind turbines.
“If this is what farmers want, then there may not be much we can do to hold them back,” Kelenski said. “If they’re talking about 50 or 60 windmills – that’s a lot of them, and they will saturate the middle of our township,” he said.
Centerville Township farmer Jerry Kelenske (no relation to the township supervisor), said he attended the private meeting with Noble officials in Lake Leelanau last week and was favorably impressed.
“I think this is really a good idea,” Kelenske said. “Everybody’s looking for renewable energy sources, and we can provide it.”
Kelenske raises cattle and field crops on his 200 acre farm on the west side of French Road.
“It sounds like it could be a good deal for me financially although nobody has shown me any specific numbers yet,” Kelenske said.
“And it makes sense that they’d target Centerville Township,” he added. “We’re the most rural township in the county, we have lots of open land, and the wind currents are right.”
Kelenske said he fully expects to hear negative reactions to the Noble proposal, however.
“My guess is that we’ll hear from some part-time residents or tourists concerned about changing the landscape or the view,” Kelenske said. “But for farmers, it’s a good deal.”
Jay Homan, who owns 260 acres of land in the “targeted” area, said he’s not convinced the Noble proposal is a good one, however.
“I’m trying very hard to keep an open mind,” Homan said. “I’m a big supporter of renewable energy. In fact, I have solar panels and a 50-foot wind generator for my own farm, but hardly anybody can see it. A lone windmill in a farm field has a certain appeal. But I don’t know what appeal 50 or 60 towers standing that tall will have. My God, you’ll be able to see them in Leland!”
Homan said he believes the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners should intervene by authorizing a vote of the people on a millage proposal to raise funds for the county’s Farmland Preservation program.
“This is not a Centerville Township issue,” he said. “Farmland preservation is a county-wide issue, and farmers should be given financial options that don’t necessarily involve building commercial-scale wind turbines on their property.”
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