12/27/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
Two West Michigan companies, L3 Combat Propulsion Systems of Muskegon and Rockford Bergé of Grand Rapids, have organized the Michigan Wind Energy Consortium. With the support of other local companies, they intend to take advantage of Muskegon’s deep-water port capacity and the area’s manufacturing capabilities to build parts for wind turbines and ship them around the world. The industrial center may begin as a wind turbine hub, but could support other advanced manufacturing, shipping, research and development, testing and education activities as it develops. The economic development effort will bring together private companies, local government, economic development agencies, and colleges. The proposed West Michigan Economic Partnership between Kent and Muskegon counties is also key to the project.
12/12/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
The Grand Valley State University Wind Sentinel wind data buoy was deployed to Lake Michigan from its initial Muskegon Lake location on November 4, and is now located four miles southwest of the Muskegon pierhead. With on-board power supplied by solar panels, a wind turbine, battery bank storage and a diesel generator (if needed), real time data is transmitted in ten-minute intervals to a dedicated computer server at the GVSU Padnos College of Engineering. Wind velocities are being measured at 55, 60, 90,110 and 120 meters at one second intervals. A sample reading indicates that at noon on November 17, wind velocities were respectively 9.8, 9.8, 10.6, 11.1, 10.6, and 10.5 meters per second. Data on thermo-fluid characteristics, wave and atmospheric conditions, as well as the presence of bird/bat activity are also being collected. The buoy will remain “on station” until mid-December when it will be brought to shore for winter storage. The Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Assessment Project continues to struggle with a funding shortfall caused by a court decision on MPSC grants, and future deployment remains uncertain.
12/5/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
The West Michigan Wind Assessment project report has published its fourth issue brief, this one on perceptions and opinions regarding the development of off shore wind energy in Lake Michigan. Funded by Michigan Sea Grant, the Grand Valley State University (GVSU) study concluded that off shore wind development could be acceptable to the study’s participants if: it reduces pollution and dependence on fossil fuels; the visual impact is minimal; property values and tourism are not significantly harmed; coastal communities realize a benefit; the public participates in the siting process; there is not a substantial utility rate increase; there is no harm to wildlife, recreation, or fishing; and technical challenges, such as ice buildup and transmission can be overcome.
11/27/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
A month-long petition drive has commenced to ask Governor Snyder to actively support taking whatever steps are needed to encourage offshore wind in Michigan waters of the Great Lakes. The groups behind this effort include the Sierra Club, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, the West Michigan Jobs Group, Clean Water Action, the Ecology Center and the West Michigan Environmental Action Council. The goals include having the state define the respective roles of state and local government, raising revenue, allowing public participation in the permitting process, protecting the Great Lakes from adverse impacts, and creating a clear process for leasing Great Lakes bottomlands.
10/27/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
Grand Valley State University launched its new offshore wind data buoy at the end of September. After calibration tests in Muskegon Lake, it will take up station in Lake Michigan to begin collecting wind data at altitude over the lake for the first time, using LIDAR technology. The economic development opportunity presented by this project, supported in part by funding from DOE, WE Energy, and Sierra Club, has been jeopardized by the suspension of a previously promised State of Michigan grant. [A recent court decision found the grant money was to come from a fund that no longer had statutory authorization.] It is imperative that the State of Michigan show its ongoing support for science, research, and the future energy policy of Michigan by immediately replacing (and even expanding) the funding for this multi-disciplinary, multi-university research project that holds great promise for economic development in our state. Michigan has used its natural resources – oil and gas, timber, mineral deposits, water – to grow the economy of the state. Is the next economic development answer blowing in the offshore wind? Let’s find out!
10/8/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
Yesterday, on a glorious fall day, Grand Valley State University held an outdoor dedication ceremony and launched its offshore wind data buoy in Muskegon. With the sun energizing its solar panels and the wind spinning it wind tubine the banana yellow craft was honored in speech after speeach. The promise of the research to be done by the Catch the Wind LIDAR unit and other scientific instruments were cited. Many in the crowd recognized that this in fact is going to validate the potential of offshore wind as a major energy source for the Great Lakes region. Hats off to Arn Boezaart of the MAREC center and the group from West Michigan Energy that helped make this dream a reality. It is apt to be a watershed step in wind data lore.
10/3/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
Grand Valley State University is preparing to receive, validate, and then launch its off shore wind data buoy in Lake Michigan. Constructed by AXYS Technologies of British Columbia, the 17 by 17 foot data platform will test for wind patterns, wind quality, bat and bird activities, and water parameters. With power supplied by a small wind turbine, a solar panel, and a fossil fueled generator, the research platform will collect data for GVSU, Michigan State University, and University of Michigan researchers. U of M has recently received U.S. Department of Energy awards of more than $1 million to simulate the impact of surface water ice on off shore wind turbines and to evaluate the effects of freshwater ice on off shore turbines in the Great Lakes. The dedication of the wind data buoy will take place at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s field station on the Muskegon Channel at 11 AM on October 7.
7/5/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
The benefits and concerns relating to offshore wind in Michigan are discussed in West Michigan Wind Assessment Issue Brief #3, a project of Grand Valley State University funded by the Michigan Sea Grant College Program. The sixteen-page study reviews the latest research on issues such as visibility, tourism, and public acceptance, citing both the perceived advantages and perceived disadvantages of offshore wind. The issue brief can be accessed at http://tiny.cc/offshore_wind. The project is being headed up by Dr. Erik Nordman, assistant professor of Natural Resources Management in GVSU’s Biology Department.
5/15/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
Grand Valley State University (GVSU) has selected AXYS Technologies from Vancouver, Canada to provide the equipment for its three-year offshore wind data collection project in Lake Michigan. The floating-buoy research platform will be equipped with Catch the Wind LIDAR technology to measure wind characteristics, with deployment anticipated in September 2011. The wind data and related research project will be managed by the Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center (MEREC) of GVSU in Muskegon, in collaboration with the Phoenix Energy Institute of the University of Michigan. The project will evaluate the impact of wind, wave and ice climatology on the research platform at multiple locations, as well as characteristics of aquatic habitat and water quality. Michigan State University will support the project with bird and bat studies and related avian research. The City of Muskegon has agreed to be a co-applicant on environmental permit applications. Funding is supplied by the U.S. Department of Energy, the MPSC, We Energies, and the Sierra Club.
5/2/2011
by Bruce Goodman, Energy Lawyer
With the Mineral Management Agency’s offshore wind permitting process estimated to take upwards of eight years to navigate, the Great Lakes are increasingly attractive for offshore wind projects. The prior governor of Ohio put a stake in the lakes by giving development certainty to Cleveland’s offshore LEEDCo project. He understood that site control is the key to any energy project. His rationale was clear and obvious—he wanted Ohio to take the lead in the next generation of the wind industry that could bring thousands of jobs to a state with idle industrial capacity and manufacturing prowess. Hey, isn’t that Michigan? Will we be left behind? If there is to be any offshore wind legislation in Michigan, it should be to put out the welcome mat to developers. Make certain it gives quick, reasonable and certain site control to developers in exchange for fair revenues to the people of Michigan. Otherwise imagine the headline: Michigan, the Great Lake State that Missed the Boat.
