Wind Power Renewable Energy in Minnesota and Michigan

"They stand like giant white pinwheels on the horizon, 32 of them towering 40 stories over the flat farmland", wrote Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau. John Deere Wind Energy invested $100 million in The Harvest Wind Farm located 10 miles from Saginaw Bay in Michigan. This "Farm" has the ability to generate 52.8 megawatts of electricity when the wind is blowing. The energy generated will be used to power 15,000 homes. Gov. Granholm promises to provide 10 percent of the states power by renewable sources over the next 7 years. It is estimated that the state will increase wind powered electricity by 2,150 megawatts over the next 7 years. The power will be provided by 1,300 wind mills. This is the equivalent of 3 coal burning power plants.

Similar to Michigan, the State of Minnesota has prime land space for wind power. The North Shore of Lake Superior is mostly uninhabited. As everyone is aware, Duluth is built on a hill. In fact most of the North Shore is high, steep, rocky hills. There is already a large concentration of television, radio, and other communication towers in Duluth. Why not add a few windmills? If people are concerned about the look of a windmill, why not build them along the north shore? Winds coming off the lake are clean and stronger than winds inland.

According to Skip Pruss, Michigan Renewable Energy Advisor, there is a great potential for Windmills to be build offshore, in the waters of the Great Lakes. Funny enough, officials don't want to put windmills in Lake Michigan because of "tourism" but favor Lake Superior instead. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ontario all share Lake Superior. Boating along the northern shore of Lake Superior is very limited. This is an opportunity for Minnesota, especially Duluth. Duluth has been one of the Great Lakes Primary windmill importers and exporters (yes, we still do manufacturing in America).

I advocate for Nuclear power along with cleaner coal burning plans. Coal burning plants take up less space than wind farms, provide more dependable service (you never know when the wind will blow, how strong it will blow, or how long), and the US has tons and tons and tons of coal! However, it is smart to diversify. Along with that people are pushing "green". Why not embrace it?