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.

While it's good to prepare for a rainy day, Mundy Township officials are preparing for windy days. Rather, they are preparing for possible wind turbines that someone in the future may want to erect to capitalize on wind energy. ..."It's new technology emerging -- we're trying to be proactive."

As Michigan seeks to close its wind power gap with neighboring states, it is also approaching a formidable political hurdle. Is the state ready to accept offshore wind turbines in waters prized by boaters and wealthy lakeshore property owners alike? ... The Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council is recommending amending Public Act 325 to allow offshore waters to be included in the public trust. That would give the state authority to override local opposition.

During last week's meeting of the Huron County Wind Energy Subcommittee, which was formed to address complaints about wind turbines from residents, Huron County Commissioner Kurt Damrow said a teleconference will take place in the near future, although a date has yet to be determined. Huron County Health Department officials, along with some members of the subcommittee, will discuss the protocol of a health study with the universities. Previous studies on the subject will be reviewed to determine their applicability to Huron County.

The proposal discussed Monday calls for 30 percent of the state's power to come from sources such as wind and solar by 2025. It would build upon a state law adopted last year that requires 10 percent of the state's power to come from renewable sources by 2015.

Rising electricity costs have many looking for ways to save some cash, including turning to wind power. Before that happens, local governments want to be sure everyone has rules to play by. Summit Township planning commissioners Tuesday said they were trying to "get ahead of the game a bit" by developing guidelines for wind turbines. The commission approved the changes Tuesday.

Hanson said Huron County Commissioner Kurt Damrow submitted a video tape from the June 24 Lake Township Planning Commission public hearing that was held to receive input on the proposed wind zoning ordinance. During that meeting, the board would not allow any discussion regarding taxes or economic implications of wind projects in Lake Township. "I refuse to listen to any economics at this meeting," said Lake Township Planning Board Chairman Louis Colletta during that June 24 meeting.

Wind power may be one of the up-and-coming green energy initiatives, but Genesee County residents might want to think twice before installing their own wind turbines. According to a map on the state Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth's Web site, 50-meter-tall towers in the county would generate poor-to-marginal wind power, and that's the shortest tower mapped on the site.

People are typically in favor of the idea of wind energy - until they're faced with the reality of gigantic, utility-sized turbines erected in their community. With utilities exploring potential wind power facilities in Ottawa and Allegan counties, a new study will give communities both sides of the blustery subject. ...The study will explore coastal wind energy in Ottawa, Allegan, Muskegon and Oceana counties both on land and in water.

"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.