Energy answer may be blowing over the water

Energy answer may be blowing over the water

Jul 22 - The Times

Northwest Indiana may someday become a center of wind energy production, but without 100-meter tall turbines looming over houses.

Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman said Wednesday that the Indiana Office of Energy Development and state environment and natural resources officials are working to figure out how to site wind turbines in Indiana's portion of Lake Michigan.

"We have the potential to develop several thousand megawatts of on-shore or off-shore wind, and that's thanks to our unique position as a land-locked state bordering a Great Lake," Skillman told more than 500 participants at the third annual WIndiana wind power conference in Indianapolis.

The Republican lieutenant governor, who is also head of the energy development office, said she believes it is possible to "develop wind power opportunities while preserving industry and the natural beauty of Lake Michigan."

Indiana currently generates 1,036 megawatts of power at five wind farms, including the Meadow Lake Wind Farm in White and Benton counties and Fowler Ridge Wind Farm in Benton County. Last year, the state added 10 percent of all new wind capacity in the United States.

"The wind business is not a trend; it's a long-term solution to our energy needs," said Dan Thompson, vice president of energy marketing for Invenergy LLC, of Chicago.

But wind power still has a long way to go. The state's total wind generating capacity is barely twice that of the 515 MW State Line Generating Plant in Hammond, one of 29 coal-fired power plants in the state.

Besides possible lake wind turbines, Porter County is working with wind energy developers to locate a wind farm on agricultural land in the southern portion of the county. The county's requirement of a 1,000-foot setback for buildings near the turbines means southern Porter County will be able to keep its agricultural look long into the future, said Robert Thompson, county planner.

"People are always saying we need to preserve our agriculture. This is another way of possibly looking at helping the farmer out, getting some additional income and also preserving some of the land," Thompson said.

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