Offshore Wind Wire

A Minnesota-based wind farm developer held a public information session this week to discuss a proposed 1,000 megawatt wind farm on Lake Michigan.

Representatives from Scandia Wind Offshore LLC met with residents of Mason County, Michigan, on Tuesday to present a preliminary outline of the Aegir Offshore Wind Farm Project.  Mason County is on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, about 150 miles northeast of Chicago and 200 miles northwest of Detroit.  According to the presentation, the proposed wind farm will cost more than $3 billion and is being planned with Norwegian offshore wind developer Havgul Clean Energy.

“It’s really in the very preliminary stages,” Scandia CEO Steve Warner told Offshore Wind Wire.  “We’ve proposed the concept, and we are now engaging the public and local officials to determine their support.  We are getting feedback in terms of the size and shape of the wind farm.”

Warner said Scandia will hold a second round of public meetings on Jan. 18 and 19, 2010.  The company does not yet have control of the site designated in the plan.  That step would only come after gauging public acceptance and support, Warner said.

Scandia is also proposing direct payments to the impacted community, based on either capacity or production, according to the company’s presentation.

The company plans to use turbines sized between 5 and 10 megawatts of capacity.  The presentation points toward turbines produced by REpower Systems or Clipper Windpower.

Warner said approximately 60 percent of attendees at the initial meeting had doubts or concerns about the project.  He believes, however, that this does not necessarily reflect the broader community.

“We certainly heard both sides,” Warner said.  “The opposition to the concept mostly revolved around the viewshed.  We fully understand and respect that. But there were supporters there as well.”