RG Radio — Report says Michigan could be major player in offshore wind power

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

A new report by the Land Policy Institute of Michigan State University says that Michigan’s Great Lakes offshore wind potential could elevate the state’s wind energy profile nationally and internationally.

According to the study, Michigan’s portion of the Great Lakes could produce 321,936 Megawatts of electricity from wind energy, compared to 16,500 Megawatts of wind potential on shore.

The report, Michigan’s Offshore Wind Potential, uses 2008 data from AWS Truewind, a renewable energy consulting service. The intent of the report is to help inform state lawmakers about the need to develop state policies for offshore wind development.

The report states:
“Given the unique management framework in the Great Lakes, the potential to mitigate some of the issues that typically arise with onshore application and the potential for Michigan to be a bigger player in the national wind generation space, we recommend that greater consideration be given to state policies to guide offshore wind development.” 

The report goes on to say that Michigan ranks 14th in the nation for onshore wind potential, but could rank significantly higher for offshore wind potential for many reasons. 

Among some of these reasons are that Michigan has jurisdiction over 40 percent of the Great Lakes water surface area, that implementing offshore wind projects in the Great Lakes is easier than in the ocean, and that implementing freshwater projects is less expensive and more durable than projects in saltwater.
 
Listen here for the report from Rapid Growth partner Michigan Now:

Click here to read the complete report.

Source: Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at deborah@rapidgrowthmedia.com.