Apr 22 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Tina Lam Detroit Free Press



Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants Michigan to be the first state with wind turbines in the Great Lakes, but the competition is fierce.

"I have a wager with Gov. Ted Strickland of Ohio that we'll be first," she said. Ohio has asked for proposals for wind farms in Lake Erie. Ontario and New York also are pushing offshore projects.

Granholm said Michigan is in a unique situation to profit from Great Lakes turbines because it's in the center of the lakes, where the steadiest winds blow. The state has a chance to play a major role in a new green economy, making components for wind turbines, she said.

"I'm so bullish on wind power as a way to diversify manufacturing in the state," she said. "We want to be the place where climate change solutions are researched, developed and produced."

 Granholm spoke to more than 700 people at a wind energy conference at Cobo Hall, sponsored for Earth Day by the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association.

The state already has more than 100 companies with millions of dollars in revenue from wind power, including some former auto suppliers that now make parts for wind turbines, Granholm said.

Michigan also has 38,000 acres of bottomlands, where thousands of huge turbines could spin. Michigan could produce the huge turbines needed throughout the lakes and save companies the need to ship the components from Europe, which is expensive.

A recent report to the governor identified dozens of areas that could work for offshore turbines in Michigan, but said the five largest are in outer Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron near Sanilac, Lake Michigan off Berrien County and off Delta and Mackinac counties in the Upper Peninsula.

Michigan's Legislature is considering a package of bills to govern offshore wind.

Contact TINA LAM: 313-222-6421 or tlam@freepress.com

(c) 2010, McClatchy-Tribune Information Services  To subscribe or visit go to:  www.mcclatchy.com/