Offshore wind energy is coming to the Great Lakes. At stake are thousands of jobs, more stable electricity rates, and the potential to control our energy future. The only question is whether Michigan will lead in this growth industry or concede the opportunity to Ohio, New York, Ontario and others who are moving into the future.
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Coal-fired power plants supply more than 60% of Michigan electricity. They spew toxics that create significant public health care costs, damage our natural resources, and increase climate-change pollution. They also siphon billions of Michiganders’ hard-earned dollars each year to purchase coal from other states.
Offshore wind would reduce the environmental impacts from coal burning, create jobs, and keep more of our money at home. Already, Michigan has more than 100 firms providing parts to wind turbine manufacturers. That number could mushroom if a turbine manufacturer locates in Michigan.
Each megawatt of wind power offsets expensive and dangerous coal power. Coal prices continue to rise and are subject to wild fluctuations. Earlier this year, the state’s Public Service Commission estimated that a coal power plant proposed in Rogers City would have increased rates $77 per month for the average residential customer.
By contrast, the fuel for wind turbines is perpetually free.
Michigan’s Great Lakes shoreline has some of the nation’s best wind power potential. It is time to apply the engineering and manufacturing expertise in Michigan to the wind power industry. But that will take a commitment by the state proving we are serious about building and buying power from offshore facilities.
We have a start.
In 2009, Gov. Jennifer Granholm created the Michigan Great Lakes Wind Council to identify the best potential areas for offshore wind turbines in Michigan while protecting the Great Lakes bottomlands. Its final report is due this fall.
The council has assessed some of the best potential sites for offshore development — places with consistently strong winds that would have little impact on the lakes or the views from shore.
It also assessed the leasing process for Great Lakes bottomlands, and made good recommendations on how to do it.
Some are concerned about changing the scenic vistas for which our Great Lakes are famous. Wind turbines are things of beauty, combining grace with function. Placed in the lakes, they remind me of what we are protecting and why.
Smokestacks are ugly. Mountaintop removal is ugly. Coal ash piles leaching acidic discharge into our Great Lakes are ugly. What’s more, smokestacks cause millions of dollars of unseen damages: greenhouse gases that warm the planet, premature heart problems, respiratory ailments, and mercury poisoning in our inland lakes.
I prefer watching wind turbines spin. Let’s seize the initiative in this new era of clean wind energy.
James Clift is policy director at the Michigan Environmental Council and a member of the Offshore Wind Council.
