The landscape of Bay County's Merritt Township could change drastically in less than two years. That's what worries Supervisor Dave Schabel. A Florida company is eyeing Merritt and three townships in Tuscola County for development of a 66-turbine commercial wind park. ..."I don't think you can make everybody happy. It would alter the landscape for generations to come. It would alter the way of life around here for years to come."

A publicly owned wind turbine along M-72 in Leelanau County's Elmwood Township is out of commission. A generator bearing failed and the turbine ground to a halt, said Ed Rice, Traverse City Light & Power's executive director. The windmill has been broken for about six weeks.

Will the wind someday carry water from Lake Michigan to Grand Rapids water customers? It will if Grand Rapids officials put together a $15 million proposal to build two wind turbines on land the city owns next door to its Lake Michigan Water Filtration Plant. ...But the proposal to install two turbines up to 300 feet tall will require an ordinance amendment and could be unpopular with those who own cottages nearby.

When Michigan and Muskegon pooled every incentive package they could tap, the lure still was not strong enough to land the first factory for homegrown wind-turbine company WindTronics, LLC. Instead, WindTronics turbines will be produced by 174 Canadian workers in an old Magna International auto-seating plant in Windsor, Ontario, helped by a $2.7 million up-front provincial grant. Production in the $5.4 million facility will begin as early as January. Early access to cash made the difference, WindTronics President Reg Adams said.

Are wind turbines the energy of the future? Due to the increasing popularity of residential wind turbines, the Fenton Planning Commission is creating an ordinance and guidelines for wind turbines. This was discussed by commissioners at their meeting last week.

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.

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.

"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.

"I've got a ton of inventory," said Fonzi, owner of Affordable Green Energy, a distributor of small, electricity-generating windmills in Essexville. "But I can't put them in the air. They're sitting in boxes." That's because, Fonzi says, most local governments in the county haven't passed ordinances governing the installation of "small wind," or turbines that generate up to 100 kilowatts of power and are intended for homes and small businesses.

Four Grand Valley faculty members have been awarded a grant to explore potential conflicts with locating wind power facilities in coastal areas of Muskegon, Ottawa and Allegan counties. ...The findings of the study, expected to be complete in May 2011, will be available to government representatives, environmental advocates, business groups and residents.

Local supporters of expanding renewable energy resources in Leelanau County - including officials of the National Park Service - say they're concerned about the implications of a study released last month by the state's newly-established Wind Energy Resource Zone Board. The study names portions of northwestern Lower Michigan - including almost all of Leelanau County - as ideal for the development of massive windmill "farms".

During a meeting of the Huron County wind turbine subcommittee Thursday, the board consulted Dr. Russell Bush, medical director for Huron, Lapeer, Sanilac and Tuscola counties. ..."There's no definitive cause and effect relationship that is scientifically connected to there being a definitive human health issue," he said. "In saying that, there's nothing that says there isn't."

Bear Creek Township planning commissioners noted Wednesday that they're still awaiting some needed details to use in considering a proposal for a commercial wind turbine generator. "No new information has been provided," said commission chairman Tom Urman.