Report designates promising areas for wind farms

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI – LANSING, MI (MPRN) - A state commission has identified regions bordering Lake Michigan and Lake Huron as the most promising zones in Michigan to locate wind farms.

The regions are the northern tip of the Thumb, and areas north and south of Grand Traverse Bay in northwest Michigan. The report by the Michigan Wind Energy Resource Zone board also identifies more land near the Lake Michigan shoreline and in the Thumb, as well as the Upper Peninsula's Keewanau Peninsula as areas with potential.

The report says these areas not only have wind, but space available to locate a multitude of turbines for generating electricity. The next step is for the commission to get reactions to its draft report before it's adopted and submitted to the Michigan Public Service Commission.

There are no guarantees that wind farms will go up in the areas identified by the commission. That's up to private developers, although the state could provide help setting up transmission lines and other infrastructure.