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Happenings in the Keweenaw Peninsula April 12, 2005   Text © 2005 Keweenaw Now. Photos © 2003 and 2004 Michele Anderson.

MTU students to hold public meeting on wind power April 14

HOUGHTON -- A public meeting on "The Future of Wind Power in the Western U.P." will be held at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 14, in Room U113 of the Minerals and Materials (M&M) building on the Michigan Tech campus. Anyone interested in wind power is invited to attend.

Students from MTU's Environmental Decision Making course will make several presentations at the meeting. First, they will provide some basics about the potential use of wind power in the local area. They will then present three scenarios involving different patterns of wind power development. After each scenario, they will lead brief discussions on how those scenarios might unfold and on any concerns and interest people might have. 

Terry Kinzel, second from left, points out his residential wind turbine (left of center in the distance) to visitors during the October 2003 Solar Home tour. Kinzel and Sue Ellen Kingsley are among a few Keweenaw residents who have installed wind energy on their property. (Photo © 2003 Michele Anderson)

Dr. Hugh S. Gorman, MTU associate professor of Environmental History and Policy, teaches the Environmental Decision Making course. According to the Web site created by his students, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, working with the Michigan Wind Working Group, has published the report, Michigan Wind Resources (2004), which includes the most recent maps of wind potential in Michigan. The report indicates areas with good wind power potential in the western Upper Peninsula. 

The student Web site states the following: "From the map, it is clear that the best wind potential in the western U.P. is along Lake Superior to the west side of the Keweenaw Peninsula starting near the Little Girl’s Point and continuing clear around Copper Harbor. Offshore, the wind potential is general rated as Class 5 (Excellent) and Class 6 (Outstanding). Directly on the western shoreline, the wind potential rating drops to Class 4 (Good) and Class 3 (Fair). Further inland, the wind potential rating falls even lower to Class 2 (marginal) and Class 1 (Poor) due to the north to south running ridgeline and forested land cover."

Gorman noted the new map was partly the reason he chose wind power in the local area as a topic for the course project this year.

"Basically what we were doing was looking at what the opportunities are, what the barriers to those opportunities are and any concerns people might have about wind power development in the area," Gorman said.

He said the April 14 public meeting is open to the public and community members are especially invited to attend. 

The Web site also offers information about both residential and commercial wind turbines. 

In the section on residential wind turbines, they point out that Terry Kinzel and his wife, Sue Ellen Kingsley, of Hancock Township, are among a few local residents using residential wind energy.

Kinzel is quoted as comparing the energy from his wind turbine with that generated by two other renewable energy sources on their property, photovoltaic (PV) panels and a micro-hydro turbine: "'The hydro turbine produces about 180 watts, continuously 24/7 -- so it is by far our biggest producer of electricity. ... The PV are rated at 480 watts in full sun -- however since they're arranged to produce 17 volts (for our 12 volt system) the actual power is less. ... I don't know how much the wind turbine produces. It's rated at 400 watts at 25 mph winds, but virtually never produces that much. In our particular setting production is also significantly diminished by the fact that the tower is not tall enough to get the turbine up above the turbulence which really affects the output. Just observationally, it does seem to produce more in the winter (more wind) which compliments the PV.'"

The students note that there are currently no commercial wind farms in the Western U.P. The closest wind farm, located in Mackinaw City, near the Mackinac Bridge, consists of two .8 Megawatt turbines and is operated by Bay Windpower, LLC.*

These wind turbines blend into a landscape of vineyards in southwestern France. They are an example of a growing use of commercial wind power in France. See the report, "Wind Power Development in France in 2004." (May 2004 photo © 2004 Michele Anderson)

They also indicate that the forests of the Western U.P., present numerous challenges to the construction of large commercial wind farms:

"For a wind farm with many turbines, large tracts of wooded land would have to be cleared, which would mean sacrificing one resource for another. Hence, if commercial wind farms are to be developed in the area, they are likely to be small clusters of turbines in particularly windy locations. In other areas, small wind farms consisting of one or two turbines are often operated in conjunction with a local entity, such as a village, school district, university, or cooperative." 

The Web site also discusses related topics including economics, renewable production tax credits, connecting to the electric power grid, permitting and environmental concerns. The latter include sound and visual issues and the effects on birds and bats. 

To learn more about wind power visit the Web site of MTU's Environmental Decision Making class, "Wind Power in the Western Upper Peninsula," and take their survey on attitudes regarding various aspects of wind power.

*Editor's Notes: Read about the Mackinaw City wind turbines and see photos of them on the Mackinaw City Web site.

Another Michigan University, Lawrence Tech, will host a teleconference, "The Importance of Wind Turbine Shadow Flicker" on April 22, 2005. Visit their Web site for information.

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