An area of Lake Michigan off the Naubinway shoreline is being eyed for an offshore wind farm under a state initiative to develop alternative energy sources in the state. Large windmills planted six to 20 miles offshore could be built there by private companies to generate electricity, using wind power to relieve dependence on polluting oil or coal.

The Mackinac County Board of Commissioners was skeptical of such development off Naubinway, when introduced to the proposal at its June 10 meeting.

A site in Delta County and sites off Barrien County, Sanilac County, and in Saginaw Bay are also being studied by the Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council, which is also developing legislation to permit large, offshore wind farms on the bottomlands of the Great Lakes, held in public trust by the state.

The 29-member council of state, academic, and business representatives, including energy companies, was appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm last year and reports to the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth. Among other things, it has been directed to identify the most favorable areas for offshore wind farm development.

Its initial findings were outlined at three meetings from March to May, including one in Escanaba April 14, one in Saginaw, and one in Muskegon. Many areas of the Michigan coast have been ruled out because the winds are not strong enough or they contain known fish spawning activity, commercial lake navigation routes, bird and bat migratory routes, and, in the case of the Straits of Mackinac, negative visual impact. Opposition has been growing at some of the lower Michigan sites, where residents complain the large wind turbines will spoil the view and disturb the underwater environment.

In the Upper Peninsula, the Mackinac and Delta county sites are being studied for community support and environmental suitability by the Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) of Marquette, working with Northern Michigan University and Michigan Technological University. The project will involve more detailed investigation into the environmental elements of such development, wind, capacities of the electrical grids, and financial feasibility. Public engagement is a major focus of the Upper Peninsula Offshore Wind Study, said Carl Lindquist, the executive director of SWP, at the Mackinac County commission meeting.

The study began in April and is being funded by a $370,000 grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission. Mr. Lindquist said the sites were selected because they are in relatively shallow water and because initial wind surveys suggest they would be capable of sustaining electricity generation.

By fall, he said, emphasis will be on community input, with focus groups and general public information sessions to gauge public acceptance of such offshore developments.

“We are now looking at different ways to get all of this information about the project out there,” he said. “The studies will help us provide people with better decision-making tools.”

Count commissioners said the Naubinway site already has generated objections from fishermen, because fish spawn there. They also suggested that large windmills are not the most economical generators of electricity.

Mr. Lindquist responded that, after high production and installation costs, the wind is free, but commissioners countered that the tower generators are not maintenance free.

Commissioner Calvin “Bucky” McPhee suggested the state could have saved a lot of money by asking local communities for their input first, rather than spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to collect data that might not be needed, if the public isn't interested.

Commissioners also noted that the state has heard objections from three communities in lower Michigan, where similar projects are being studied.

Mr. Lindquist said the purpose of the study is not to sell the concept to the public or to promote offshore wind farms development. He said the most important element of the SWP project is to gather information and distribute that information to the public so it has the facts with which to deliberate the energy source, including land protection, shoreline stabilization, Great Lakes habitat restoration, and education. He pointed out his agency has also been involved in several recycling efforts that were coordinated with churches in the area, providing computer, battery, and prescription drugs disposal.

SWP was able to get management of the offshore wind study for Mackinac and Delta counties, he said, because the nonprofit organization convinced the Public Service Commission that such studies should be managed from the Upper Peninsula. Its role is not to promote such development, he said, but to get the information, engage the public, and report its findings to the state.

The program, he stressed, is to be as open and transparent as possible and he said information will be shared at public forums, focus groups, and on the Internet.

Citizens May Access

Meeting by Web or Telephone

In the meantime, the Great Lakes Wind Council, which is coordinating the state program, is scheduled to meet in Lansing Monday, June 28, and will review efforts to date and discuss future public outreach meetings.

The council will meet from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the meeting is open for telephone and Web monitoring. To listen from a telephone, citizens can dial tollfree 888-808-6929 and use access code 918-6690#.

For Web viewing, go to https://www.webmeeting.att.com (note https, not http) and enter meeting 8888086929, access code 9186690. Attendees will be asked to provide an e-mail address and name.