Imagine sections of the Great Lakes dotted with rows of gleaming, 12-story turbines, blades whirring in the stiff breeze as they generate electricity for homes and businesses onshore. It's only an idea - for now. But government regulators are bracing for an expected wave of proposals for offshore power generation in a region that never seems to run short of wind. Despite its allure as a plentiful source of clean energy, they say, offshore wind power could affect the aquatic environment and commerce.

The popularity of alternative energy will be tested Tuesday in West Michigan when voters in Oceana County's Elbridge Township decide whether to permit construction of a $120 million commercial wind farm. John Deere Wind Energy and Michigan Wind LLC of Big Rapids want to erect 30 wind turbines ...The township board in August approved a zoning ordinance change that allowed the project to proceed. But township resident Don Wierenga launched a successful petition drive to put a referendum on the issue before all township voters.

Connecticut-based project developer Noble Environmental has sold both phases of its 159MW Noble Thumb wind farm to John Deere and has laid off an unspecified number of staff. The move appears to be part of a company effort to raise cash and reduce costs. New Energy Finance could not reach a current spokesperson for comment. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the sale of the Noble Thumb project on October 14, according to a commission document. The two companies first notified FERC of their intentions on August 27.

Connecticut-based Noble Environmental Power began building a 46-turbine wind park near Ubly in July.The state's second commercial wind park has changed hands, but construction is expected to be complete by the end of the month. The company announced Monday that the park has been sold to John Deere Wind Energy ...News of Noble's troubles has been blowing across the Thumb; the company also is under investigation by the New York attorney general for bribery and other allegations.

U.S. Forest Service employees hope to begin compiling comments on the proposed White Pines Wind Farm today. The farm is proposed for Manistee National Forest land in Grant Township. ...O'Connell said there were about 200 comments received on the issue.

Landowners in southern Fillmore Township could have lease agreements in place within the next two months for a proposed commercial wind energy farm, township officials said Monday. The wind farm would be a few miles south of Tulip City Airport, north of 136th Avenue and east of 60th Street, said Keith Potter, township supervisor. He said there are plenty of large properties in that vicinity for the operation, which could include 35 to 40 wind turbines.

"I'm pleased that the governor was finally able to sign it [renewable portfolio standard] ... it's a critical beginning for our state," Mahawili said ...But the chemical engineer did some quick mathematical calculations. This Great Lakes wind dream is not going to be easy to achieve and it certainly won't be cheap. Under current electricity pricing in the state and the current rules of the Michigan Public Service Commission, a kilowatt produced by wind turbines on Lake Michigan costs about four and a half times more than energy from a modern coal-fired plant, the researcher and inventor said.

Wind turbines may or may not someday be a tourist attraction in Mason County, but they sure drew a crowd Tuesday. About 125 people crammed into one of Ramada Inn of Ludington’s conference rooms for an open-house-style meeting about a proposed 70-megawatt wind farm in the Manistee National Forest. Many of those in attendance were property owners concerned about having a wind farm so close to their homes. Others were area residents concerned or curious about the proposal and some were wind energy backers interested and enthused about the project.

Positive and negative comments, plus some suggested alternatives, were voiced by residents during the open house hosted by the U.S. Forest Service at Ludington's Ramada Inn. The three-hour event drew a large crowd, hovering around 50 people at various times, that sought information and provided feedback on the plan that would feature 20 to 28 420-foot-tall turbines on the forest land. ...Stanley Wilkosz, a Grand Haven resident who owns property near the proposed site of the wind farm, is concerned about the overall project, especially a proposal that could send overhead power lines through his property. "What I find with these big companies is they want everything and the private landowner gets screwed over," Wilkosz said.

White Pines Wind Farm LLC, a subsidiary of BP Alternative Energy, applied for a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service in hopes of constructing 20 to 28 large wind turbines in the national forest north of Forest Trail in Mason County's Grant Township, just north of Hamlin Lake. ...He estimated the studies for the environmental impact statement would take a year. Then the Huron-Manistee National Forest Service supervisor would decide on the proposal. That decision could be appealed to the regional supervisor in Milwaukee.

Area residents will get their chance next week to learn about and speak on a plan for green energy in one of the state's greenest places. BP Alternative Energy has proposed a 75-acre wind farm for the heart of about 10,000 acres of Manistee National Forest Land in Grant Township. The site is adjacent to the state's only federal wilderness area - the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area.

A commercial wind energy farm that could supply power to thousands of homes is being considered for southeastern Fillmore Township, officials said Monday, Sept. 22. The wind farm would be east of M-40 and could have between 35 to 40 wind turbines, said Ken DeWeerdt, township clerk. ..."It's nothing definite," DeWeerdt said. Fillmore Township hasn't discussed the topic at a township board meeting yet, but officials are supportive of alternative energy. "We have ordinances in effect that will accelerate the installation of the turbines," DeWeerdt said.

The first of 46 windmills was erected Saturday for Noble Thumb I Windpark near Ubly, a project of Connecticut-based Noble Environmental Power. ...The project is southeast of the 32-turbine Harvest Wind Farm, which became the state's first commercial wind park last year.

The numbers sound good, but the details still need to be worked out regarding the state's new energy plan passed by the legislature this week. Part of the plan includes a renewable energy standard, which at least one wind turbine developer had hoped for. Rick Wilson, project manager for Heritage Sustainable Energy, said the adopted standard that requires 10 percent of the state's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2015 is "a good standard."

Michigan is the nation's 14th windiest state, according to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth. Thirty-two wind turbines went into operation in Michigan in 2008, bringing the state total to 35. Two more wind farms are currently being constructed. So Rockford can harness some of that natural power and ... well, not so fast. "We don't usually recommend it in Rockford," said Mark Bauer, owner of Bauer Power in Wayland. The company specializes in the installation of solar and wind energy systems. "The month to month wind speed is too low."

Local officials are anything but happy with legislation they believe will pre-empt local government control of wind development systems. The legislation is Senate Bill 213 — which is the renewable energy package that’s been one of the most talked-about issues/pieces of legislation needing to be passed in Lansing. ...there never was an intent to pre-empt local governments, said Rep. Jeff Mayes (D-Bay City), who serves as vice chair of the House Committee on Energy and Technology, and also is the House’s leading negotiator for renewable portfolio standard and energy efficiency.

Lawmakers may be close to finishing up a state energy plan, but that's not stopping critics from going after details of a requirement in the bills to use more renewable energy. Although making Michigan less reliant on traditional sources of electricity is seen as a laudable goal, the timeline and price tag of the new renewable requirements are causing disagreements. Critics say the bipartisan plan being negotiated is "unforgivably expensive." They say they wonder why customers would be charged more up front before seeing extra green power. ..."Too little information on the cost of these bills is being made available to lawmakers," he said.

They won't be as tall as some; and they won't power many homes. But by spring, two wind turbines could rise more than 125 feet above the Lakeshore landscape. The Zeeland Board of Public Works is planning to become the first West Michigan utility to bring electric-generating wind turbines online. The effort comes amid a flurry of efforts to turn wind into electricity, from a proposal announced last week that would power thousands of homes in the Manistee area to much smaller efforts such as Zeeland's.

Saying it's only fair, Michigan lawmakers plan to raise residential electricity bills and drop business rates so all customers are charged the true cost of their power. But when it comes to figuring out who should pay what for new renewable energy requirements, the playing field wouldn't be even. Though residents account for one-third of Detroit Edison's electric sales, they would contribute nearly two-thirds of what Michigan's largest utility could collect from customers for wind and other sources of alternative power under bills that have passed the House and Senate.

Two months of recording wind data from a 60-meter tower south of Blissfield has officials of Great Lakes Wind LLC feeling encouraged. The company is moving early to lease farm property where commercial wind turbines could eventually be built, said chairman Larry Gould. Work on lining up leases was prompted more by other developers showing interest in a wind project in the area than the preliminary results from weather equipment, he said. ...Wind data available so far all encourages continued exploration of a commercial project, he said. Numbers are confidential at this point, he said.