A map prepared for Michigan’s Great Lakes Offshore Wind Council shows areas of high wind power production potential in the state’s offshore waters.
One of the first proposals for a major offshore wind project in America’s freshwater has surprised Michigan regulators and begun to stir opposition from onshore property owners. But the company behind the proposal says it has the potential to help right Michigan’s struggling economy with new jobs and leadership in wind energy development.
First disclosed last month, the Scandia Wind proposal to install 100 to 200 wind turbines two to four miles offshore in Lake Michigan for a 1,000-megawatt project comes after a September report by the state’s Great Lakes Wind Council. That report outlined high potential areas in the state’s Great Lakes for wind power, while recommending turbines be placed as least six miles offshore.