Wind power in Michigan on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Wind power in Michigan is a developing industry. The industrial base from the
The first commercial wind turbine installed in the state, a 0.6 MW model, was erected in 
A number of new projects are proposed in Michigan. In the Thumb region, which has most of Michigan's high-quality onshore wind, 140 miles of new 345 kilovolt lines are being built to allow the region to support hundreds of proposed new turbines.
Michigan has potential for
Teal background indicates the largest wind generation month for the year.
Green background indicates the largest wind generation month to date.
Source:
Michigan used 102,489 GWh in 2016.
Map of Michigan wind farms
{{Energy in the USA
Wind power in Michigan is a developing industry. The industrial base from the automotive industry
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...
has led to a number of companies producing wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...
parts in the state. The development of wind farm
A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...
s in the state, however, has lagged behind. In January 2021, there were a total of 1,481 wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each yea ...
s in the state with a nameplate capacity of 2,549 MW. The nameplate total exceeded 2,000 MW when Pine River came online in March 2019. Wind provided 4.2% of the state's electricity in 2016.
Michigan
Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
's requirement for 10 percent renewable energy by 2015 has led to increased alternative development in the state since this law was passed in 2008. A ballot initiative requiring 25% by 2025 failed in 2012.
The development of alternative energy sources has stimulated new businesses and employment. In 2011, the Environmental Law & Policy Center identified more than 100 businesses in Michigan involved in engineering and manufacturing wind turbine components, and employing 4,000 people.
Traverse City
Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...
in 1996. It remained the only turbine for several years. Traverse City Light & Power has announced a project to generate 30% of its power from renewable sources by 2020. In 2001 Mackinaw City installed 2 turbines rated at 0.6 MW each. Laker Elementary School in the Thumb region installed three 65KW turbines and a 10KW one, totaling 0.2 MW in 2005.
The first wind farm in the state was the Harvest Wind Farm in the Thumb
The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...
, opened in December 2007, with 32 turbines producing a rated 53 MW. Huron County has the highest number of wind turbines in the state.
In 2010, wind power
Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...
produced 0.3% of Michigan's electrical power. Installed wind capacity more than doubled in 2011, to a total of 377 MW nameplate capacity.
The largest wind farm in Michigan, the 385 MW Isabella Wind Project developed by Apex Clean Energy and acquired by DTE, entered full operation in 2021.
A number of new projects are proposed in Michigan. In the Thumb region, which has most of Michigan's high-quality onshore wind, 140 miles of new 345 kilovolt lines are being built to allow the region to support hundreds of proposed new turbines.
Michigan has potential for offshore wind power
Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of c ...
in the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
, but development has been delayed by political considerations. A proposed wind farm in Lake Michigan at Ludington was rejected in 2010.
Wind farms
Wind generation
See also
* Solar power in Michigan *List of power stations in Michigan
This is a list of electricity-generating power stations in Michigan, sorted by type and name. In 2019, Michigan had a total summer capacity of 29,457 MW through all of its power plants, and a net generation of 116,701 GWh. The corresponding ene ...
*Wind power in the United States
Wind power is a branch of the energy industry that has expanded quickly in the United States over the last several years. From January through December 2021, 379.8 terawatt-hours were generated by wind power, or 9.23% of electricity in the ...
*Renewable energy in the United States
According to preliminary data from the US Energy Information Administration, renewable energy accounted for about 12.6% of total primary energy consumption and about 19.8% of the domestically produced electricity in the United States in 202 ...
*United States energy law
United States energy law is a function of the federal government, states, and local governments. At the federal level, it is regulated extensively through the United States Department of Energy.
Every state, the federal government, and the Distric ...
References
External links
Map of Michigan wind farms
{{Energy in the USA