Muskegon's future might be blowing in the wind. Literally. And it could mean hundreds of new jobs and the development of energy that is both plentiful and clean.
Local leaders want Muskegon to become the center of a Great Lakes industry that would produce wind energy and the turbines and parts necessary to make it happen. Such a vision would involve placing dozens -- if not hundreds -- of 325-foot wind turbines, or windmills, on floating anchor points 22 miles off the Lake Michigan shoreline that couldn't be seen from land.
Parts for the towers and turbines could be generated by Muskegon manufacturers, which have experience in fabricating metals. Today, many turbine parts are built overseas and in other states.
"The state of Michigan is endowed with very large wind energy potential," said Imad Mahawili, director of the Michigan Alternative & Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon. "This renewable wind energy can be harnessed using advanced wind turbines that have been successfully proven over many years in various parts of the world."
Mahawili hopes to spark a West Michigan Offshore Wind program by temporarily erecting one of the wind turbines on Muskegon Lake. A yearlong test of the turbine would help officials gauge, among other things, what effect such a tower might have on the Lake Michigan environment. More here.
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