Wind power important in solving energy problems

Jeff Broddle | Cadillac News Windmills like this one off M-55, once a common sight on farmsteads, may reappear on the landscape in an updated form. Modern turbines are providing new opportunities in power generation for farmers, developers and communities.

Living with both clean energy and modern comforts isn't a quixotic dream.

An advocate for renewable energy, Allan O'Shea, lived three years in a home powered by wind energy and currently powers his Copemish office with a combination of wind and solar energy.

“These things are doable without changing your comfort levels,” he said.

O'Shea, who sells residential and small commercial wind systems, said a homeowner with a house buttoned-down by good insulation, efficient windows and energy saving appliances and lighting can expect to produce about half of a family's energy needs with wind power. “You can't put up a wind system and cure all your ills,” he said.

O'Shea thinks public education, state and local laws must come together to support renewable energy growth.

“We are so far behind the curve in Michigan, it's scary,” he said.

Other states with a less favorable wind resource than Michigan have already put laws in place and established commercial wind farms.

“Michigan has three large wind electric systems,” O'Shea said. “Wisconsin has more than 700 turbines and thousands of small wind systems with billion dollars worth of wind generators.”

If the Michigan takes an aggressive approach to wind power, O'Shea thinks it would be possible to deliver three to five percent of the state's energy growth needs in 10 years. But marketplace supply and demand issues could slow progress. General Electric, a major worldwide supplier of turbines, is 18 months behind in deliveries, he said.

O'Shea met last week in Lansing with lawmakers and representatives of the Michigan Association of Counties to discuss the proposed House Bill 4649, one of several bills being looked at to further the growth of alternative energy. Currently on the floor, HB 4649 would permit establishment of wind electric systems in all counties.

“The first step in increasing wind (power) is to get the state to require a renewable energy minimum standard,” said Mike Klepinger, Michigan State University Extension Specialist.

Twenty-one states have already enacted what is called a Renewable Energy Portfolio (REP) to ensure alternative energies become a part of the future.

Klepinger favors a policy that would require 10 percent of the state's energy to come from a renewable energy source by 2010.

Rep. Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, said an aggressive approach is needed to get alternative energy sources into the market and that it is key to stabilizing prices.

“I think we finally realized in Michigan this is not going to drop-off,” Sheltrown said. “We should have been working on this for a long time and focused research on alternative energies.”

Other nations have taken the lead in implementing new energy sources and provide working models.

“There are countries in the world relying 100 percent on biofuels, for example, such as Brazil,” he said. “They seem to be running just fine.”

Legislature is currently examining bills to provide tax credits to individuals and companies investing in alternative energies. One year ago, Michigan took a step forward when net metering rules were put into effect. Net metering allows owners of alternative power generation systems to tie into a utility system and sell the excess power produced on site to utility companies.

“It's not as simple as you or I might think on the surface,” said Craig Borr, senior vice president for marketing and member relations at Wolverine Power Cooperative, a power wholesaler.

Engineering costs, approvals to connect to the grid and interconnection costs add up and the scope of projects varies.

“A homeowner that has excess power from a small turbine is one story,” he said. “The other is connecting wind farms wanting to sell to power markets.”

As a renewable energy source, wind power is a trend that has its foot in the door.

“We're very interested in renewable energy, like most utility companies,” Borr said. “The issue becomes the cost and rates to paying customers. Are customers willing to pay a premium for clean energy? I think some are. There are no two ways about it.”

Steve Harsh, an agriculture economics professor at MSU and administrator of The Michigan Anemometer Loan Program, an initiative to further establish state wind data and promote wind power generation, believes small scale wind systems have the potential to alleviate financial pressures from soaring energy prices for many types of establishments.

“Small turbines could be used to offset energy costs at small manufacturers, schools or farms,” he said.

He would like to see local collaboratives form and keep profits at home. A New York-based company is developing an $80 million wind farm underway in the Thumb, while a Michigan firm has proposed a commercial project in Oceana County. Traverse City Light and Power set the course for local development when it went online with a wind system in 1996.

In the Cadillac area, wind energy has been identified as a topic of concern, according to Kurt Schindler, Wexford County Extension Director and land use specialist. Schindler said Wexford County has no rules on the books applying specifically to wind systems, but the philosophy is to encourage innovation.

“As they work through new zoning ordinances the attitude now is to be very permissive with farmers to see they have the maximum flexibility to be successful,” he said.

As for wind power's potential in the energy mix, “I think it's the future,” Schindler said.

sbarber@cadillacnews.com | 775-NEWS (6397)