The Potential for Wind Power in Michigan

By
Brian
on June 18, 2008 Comments (2)

According to the American Wind Energy Association, Michigan is ranked 14th in the nation in potential capacity for wind power. The problem is that the AWEA also ranks Michigan 30th in the nation in existing wind power resources.

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Filed under: Renewable Energy | Wind Power

As far as renewable energy resources go, wind power is one of the easiest for us to incorporate into our system at the present time. We all know how the wind turns a propeller, and with only a little bit of physics we can all understand how a turbine can generate electricity. With the resources to build a turbine, all we need is a little bit of wind to give us energy.

Luckily, Michigan has the necessary amount of wind in the right places. Wind turbines can't be built everywhere: there's a buffer zone around urban areas and state parks. Also, there's a huge drop in productivity if they're built by high trees. However, according to the American Wind Energy Association, Michigan is ranked 14th in the nation in potential capacity for wind power (in MW).

The problem is that the AWEA also ranks Michigan 30th in the nation in existing wind power resources, with only 2.59 MW installed. And Illinois, ranked 16th in potential power, produces 735.66 MW of wind power, more than 42 other states.

While it is a good thing that Michigan has more than 50 MW worth of wind turbines under construction, which will probably allow it to move up the rankings to #26 in the nation when completed, it's not enough. According to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, our state has a potential for development of 16,560 MW of wind power. With only 3.33% of potential wind power harnessed, there's room for improvement.

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2 Comments

Bud Gibson on June 19, 2008 8:22 AM
Great post. Now, dig up some people to go talk to.
Geoff Young on November 23, 2010 5:31 PM
As the demand of renewable energy increases more options for energy sources are being researched. While Wind turbines aren’t a new technology, their implementation within Michigan is a novel idea. Michigan has a large area of coastline, since it is bordered by five great lakes. I mention this because of the weather patterns created by the lake effect, the shifting weather causes a constant breeze a long the coastline. Michigan has an opportunity to tap deeper into a valuable source of energy. The article states that Michigan currently has 50 Megawatts of wind turbines under construction. It continues on to say that we have the potential to build up to 16,560 Megawatts. This is a massive potential to harness that is just sitting idly. Apart from the potential power, we also have the possibility to open more business within Michigan. We have open facilities sitting abandoned after the automotive manufactures left. Redesign these factories so that they can manufacture turbines. Let us bring back more business and jobs to Michigan. By building wind turbines, and showing the rest of the nation that we are working on going green, we can help bring more outsiders and small businesses to Michigan. Think about it, when we build 16,560 Megawatts worth of turbines, we are going to need maintenance crews to keep them running. We will also need workers to build the infrastructure to pipe that electricity into the cities. With all of this money being paid out, towns will flourish in the areas that these people are working. Since this is all along the coastline, it would be all across Michigan’s borders. I recently traveled the Upper Peninsular, outside of a select few towns, the entire area was dead. Hopefully by building these turbines we can bring life back to that area.

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