LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Windmill farm to be topic of meeting 

GARDEN – The possibility of a wind energy farm on the Garden Peninsula is being explored, but the project may be far in the future, according to officials.

Fairbanks Township Supervisor Ron Collins said Heritage Sustainable Energy, Traverse City, has shown interest in creating a sustainable energy wind farm in the area.

“They (Heritage) had their representatives in the area last year trying to sign up landowners (to lease out their land) for a potential wind farm,” said Collins. “They’d have to have a certain amount of land to even begin the project.”

Delta County Building and Zoning Department Administrator Tom Carviou said the potential wind farm may fall under federal jurisdiction.

“I called all the way to Washington, D.C., to talk to the head of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), and they are calling it a public utility,” said Carviou. “And any kind of energy other than what we’re using now – wind, solar, (ect.) – is being promoted firmly by the feds. So it may fall under their jurisdiction.”

Carviou said the company has a test tower in place to determine whether there is enough wind to create cost-effective power.

“Right now they have test towers which will be moved around out there for approximately three to four years to check whether it is even feasible,” said Carviou. “Then we are all going to have to know at that point who’s in charge and who has jurisdiction and who does the permitting and such.”

Collins said there are other feasibility issues the company or companies interested in wind power on the Garden Peninsula have to consider.

“There are several other things they’ll need to explore, like how to get the power out of here,” said Collins. “They think the area has potential, but there’s a few years of data gathering necessary before they’d make any decision.”

A meeting on the possibility of wind energy farm is being organized by a local resident.

Gordon Smith, Garden, said the informational meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Fairbanks Township Hall, is to explore whether or not the new technology would be in the best interest of the community.

“One of the things we’ve heard that really concerns us is that these things don’t put out enough energy to get rid of any coal-burning plants and that they have to stay open anyway because the wind is not constant,” Smith said.

Smith said another concern is that the windmills could kill birds and could be a noise problem. “We understand these things are about 400 feet tall with 200-foot blades, and we’re told they make a lot of noise,” said Smith. “The Garden Peninsula has lots of flocks of geese and swans and other birds, and we’re worried about what it might do to them also.”

Smith said he has invited representatives from companies considering the area for wind farm development to the meeting.

By Audrey LaFave

Daily Press

8 February 2008

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon