Airport officials object to windmills

Airport Manager Ronald Ludema has sent a letter to the Michigan Department of Transportation opposing the proposed construction of two 400-foot towers for wind turbine power generating 1 1/2 miles and 2 1/2 miles from the airport.

A.R. Blystra LLC, of Holland, is listed as the applicant for the tower construction in papers filed with the state, but calls to the firm were not returned.

"These two towers would have a devastating impact on the operations at Tulip City Airport," Ludema wrote in a letter to the state dated Jan. 24.

A date for the state to consider the tower construction request has not been set.

The Holland Board of Public Works also is in the process of seeking of two test towers near the airport to evaluate the feasibility of establishing wind-generated electric power. The 150-foot test towers planned by the BPW are being evaluated for sites near South Washington Avenue and Haworth Inc. on M-40.

The Holland City Council approved $200,000 for the tests, but a BPW official said the towers still are in the planning stage.

The two proposed wind towers by A.R. Blystra are not in restricted airspace but would force pilots to approach the airport at a much steeper angle, Ludema said.

Pilots need to keep a 250-foot to 300-foot separation from ground structures, he said.

Airport Board Chairman Jim Storey said it was "insane" to put the tall towers near a growing airport.

"To put these towers near the airport would be a threat to the vital economic life of the community," Storey said.

As proposed, a west wind generation tower would have an elevation of 450 feet above the airport and the south tower a 476 feet elevation because of land height.

"Anytime the (cloud) ceiling fell below 700 feet, pilots couldn't use the approaches," Ludema said.

The use of wind turbines to generate electric power has become financially practical because of huge price increases in the past few years for natural gas and coal, which are used in the production of electricity.