Developers want to take advantage of wind conditions in the Eastern Upper Peninsula that are among the strongest in the state, and they are proposing two potential wind farms here, one in Hendricks Township in Mackinac County and one in DeTour and Raber townships, as reported in The St. Ignace News last week. Sites near St. Ignace Area Schools in Moran Township and Sand Products Corporation in Brevort Township have also been eyed by developers for wind energy.

Downstate developer Windfarms USA has been working with township board members and residents in Hendricks Township to build roughly 20 wind turbines on 133 acres near the shore of Lake Michigan one mile west of Epoufette. Each turbine is expected to generate 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 700 homes each.

According to Doug Bundy, who leased 60 acres of his land for the project, the development is expected to cost around $60 million.

Representatives from Windfarm- USA did not respond to inquiries by press time.

Hendricks Township trustee Russ Nelson said the township formed a committee to research wind farms before deciding to pursue the development. The committee visited wind farms in Canada, Michigan's Thumb area, and the two turbines in Mackinaw City to further understand the technology. The committee also studied bird-kill rates, turbine setback zoning, and spoke to property owners with land adjacent to wind farms.

"We did everything we could to educate ourselves about the pros and cons about wind farms," Mr. Nelson said.

Recent state legislation, which mandates that at least 10% all Michigan energy suppliers' output be produced from renewable resources by 2015, has spurred increased interest in wind power throughout both peninsulas as well as on the water.

According to a report released October 1 by the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University, Michigan's portion of the Great Lakes has the capacity to produce 322,000 megawatts of electricity from wind energy, 13 times as much energy as Michigan actually uses during peak use times. The Land Policy Institute was founded in 2006 and focuses on the research of land use and strategic growth in the economy.

"This result has the potential to elevate Michigan's wind energy profile nationally and internationally because the resource available is significant," Dr. Soji Adelaja, director of the Land Policy Institute, said in a statement. "Michigan is one of the few states with the opportunity to generate wind power from its offshore areas."

Michigan touches four of the Great Lakes and controls 40% of the lakes' surface area.

The new legislation is expected to save Michigan consumers and businesses $1.04 billion a year by 2025, according to the office of Governor Jennifer Granholm.

Research on environmental, technology, and aesthetic concerns need to be addressed before any turbines will be seen off Michigan shorelines. Studies would also make sure fishing and shipping patterns are not disturbed by underwater transmission lines.

"Our wind potential is some of the highest in the state," Mr. Nelson said.

Winds offshore and along the shorelines of lakes Michigan, Superior and portions o Huron have the highest rating in the state for wind turbines 50 meters or taller, according to a wind power density map made by AWS Truewind, a wind energy activist group from Albany, New York. On the map, coastal regions are rated higher than inland winds for much of the state. Maps of optimal wind density for turbines of different heights can be seen on the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth Web site.

The proposed wind sites in both counties have the same wind density rating, according to the map.

While the development site in Chippewa County is more than 11 times larger than the site in Mackinac County, developers at both sites are planning to erect a similar number of windmills.

The site in Hendricks Township will probably have two different size turbines which will stand 250 to 400 feet tall and require two-and-a-half acres of land each, Mr. Bundy said. He said he doesn't understand why only 20 turbines are being planned for the 1,500-acre site in Raber and DeTour townships.

If zoning requirements are the same in Raber and DeTour Townships, the site has the capability of housing up to 600 turbines.

"The whole [eastern U.P.] is in the wind tunnel. This is just the tip of the iceberg," he said.

There is an overwhelmingly positive response, about 90% of those polled, from township residents, Mr. Nelson said.

"We actually did a poll in our township and a majority of our people were in favor of it," he said. "We found very little public opposition."

"They've really done their homework over there. There's a lot of potential in this area," said Michelle Walk, Michigan State University Extension director in Mackinac County, who speculated that the area could someday offer vocational training to maintain wind turbines.

Other wind projects in Mackinac County have been looked into, but never came to fruition.

In the past decade, St. Ignace Area Schools has been approached by two developers to erect a series of turbines in the adjacent field west of the school buildings on Portage Road, Superintendent Michael Springsteen said.

He said presentations were made and consent was given to study the land, but developers in both instances ended communications with the school board.

The school board "is open to the possibility if it's economically plausible," he said.

Similarly, Sand Products Corporation in Moran Township was approached in recent years by wind developer Mackinaw Power L.L.C., which erected the two turbines in Mackinaw City in 2001.

The attorney for Sand Products, Prentiss "Moie" Brown Jr., of Brown and Brown in St. Ignace, said studies were conducted, but no action to develop was taken. Mackinaw Wind Power studied more than 1,400 acres on the north side of Sand Products' property, about five miles north of US-2 in Brevort.

About a year and a half ago, he said, the developer contacted Sand Products to indicate they were still interested in the land.

"There still has to be definitive locations and talk," Mr. Brown said. "Nothing has been decided at this stage."

Last week, The St. Ignace News reported the city of Holland is researching a 1,500-acre site in Raber and DeTour townships; potentially a $140 million development to build 20 wind turbines. Holland officials are conducting a one-year study on the site to decide if they will pursue the wind farm development.