By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent
 
LUDINGTON, Mich. — Consumers Energy was given approval early last month to move ahead with its planned wind development in Mason County, called Lake Winds Energy Park.

The park will be a 100-megawatt project with 56 turbines. The go-ahead came from the Mason County Planning Commission, in a unanimous vote on the company’s special land use application.

“We appreciate the hard work and dedication of the Mason County Planning Commission and other county personnel in connection with review and approval of our application,” said Jack Hanson, senior vice president of generation and energy supply for Consumers Energy. “While we are still reviewing the terms and conditions of the Planning Commission’s approval, we look forward to building a wind park that benefits Mason County residents, farmers and businesses and provides economic value and renewable energy to Michigan and our customers.”

Dennis Marvin, director of Renewable Development at Consumers Energy, said there are a number of conditions laid out in the special land use agreement, including the need to get a Road Commission agreement.

“We are in the process of satisfying the conditions so we can go ahead with the project,” he said.

A rough timetable for the project includes construction startup after Sept. 1, with a break once winter weather sets in. Resumption of construction will take place next spring, with turbine construction getting under way in October 2012.

The project will be constructed in Riverton and Summit townships near Ludington in Mason County, which abuts Lake Michigan.

According to the special land use resolution and the Planning Commission meeting minutes from July 7, each of the 56 turbines should generate 1.8 megawatts of electricity.

Each tower will be about 312 feet tall, not including the rotating blades. The blades have a radius of 164 feet, making the total height of each tower 476 feet with a blade in the highest position. The towers are about 16 feet in diameter at the base. Ten of the tower sites are in Summit Township, with 46 tower sites and three alternate sites in Riverton Township.

Critics of wind farms often say turbine developments lower property values. One participant in the July 7 Planning Commission meeting, Dee Bennett of Riverton Township, leveled such a charge, according to a previously published report. She asked the planners why they didn’t require the company to guarantee land values going forward, since it’s the company’s position that land values will not go down because of the park.

“You made all kinds of concessions for Consumers,” Bennett said. “Why wouldn’t you do that for us?”

Marvin said national studies show “in the long term, there is no devaluation of property” because of wind developments. “There’s a lot of material out there on this.”

He pointed to a nationwide study by Mark Thayer and others that found no conclusive evidence of home devaluation because of proximity to a wind development. That study can be found in the FAQ section of Consumers Energy’s sponsored website, http://neighborsforlakewinds.com
Cary Shineldecker, also a resident of Riverton Township, is opposed to the development. “The current setbacks are the most lenient that there are unless there are no zoning rules at all,” he said.

He stated Consumers’ plans for the development will put one turbine 1,139 feet from his property line, 15 turbines one mile from his property line and 26 turbines within one and a half miles of his property line.
“Basically, my home is surrounded by them,” he said.

He said he hired a consultant who told him he would lose the outside enjoyment of his home. “We are appealing the decision of the Planning Commission,” Shineldecker added.