University of Michigan, city of Ann Arbor to partner on wind turbine project
The University of Michigan has tentatively offered to help fund a federally backed wind turbine for the city of Ann Arbor in exchange for the right to collect information about wind energy.
The university and city are finalizing the details of an agreement in which U-M would help fund Ann Arbor’s proposed wind turbine project, officials told AnnArbor.com. Ann Arbor received a $951,500 grant in March to offset its energy needs by erecting a wind turbine within the city limits or nearby.
“They want a platform that is local and that could be a practical research tool,” Ann Arbor City Administrator Roger Fraser said of U-M researchers.
General Electric has also expressed interest in joining the partnership, Â Fraser said. GE recently announced that it would invest $100 million in a Van Buren Township research facility where engineers will research a variety of technologies, including wind turbines.
David Munson, dean of U-M’s College of Engineering, said U-M has a “strong interest” in partnering with Ann Arbor on the turbine project.
Fraser said the city had initially planned to place a wind turbine near the water treatment plant on the city’s northwest side.
But “it turns out that’s not practical,” he said, partly because of land accessibility issues.
City officials have yet to choose a site, select a turbine supplier or settle on a specific size for the turbine. If the city opts to build the turbine in a different municipality, city officials would have to coordinate with their municipal partner to enact a wind generator ordinance.
The proposed partnership comes three years after the Ann Arbor City Council approved energy goals aimed at generating 30 percent of the city government’s energy needs from renewable sources by 2010. The city also hopes to reduce carbon emissions to 20 percent below 2000 levels by 2015.
You can follow AnnArbor.com’s Nathan Bomey on Twitter.
Comments
Gellerman
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 : 8:47 p.m.
Oops, sorry. I meant Enron. Must be the Texas heat...
Gellerman
Wed, Sep 30, 2009 : 8:45 p.m.
I'm from Texas. If y'all want to forgo wave energy and concentrate on wind, fine. Let Vortex Hydro Energy come to us. They'd be more than welcome. The Gulf is constantly in motion - his machine will bob up and down non-stop. And how about putting some in the dead zone in front of Louisiana, our neighbor? That'd turn a dead zone into a productive zone. At any rate, we wish you the best of luck. We all share the same high power bills. Even Entex, which was based in Houston, stiffed Texans as well as others. We all suffer when the conglomerates get greedy. Lead the way in energy from wind, show that it can be profitable, and you'll be doing all of the other 49 states a favor!
AccruedInterest
Mon, Aug 10, 2009 : 10:42 a.m.
You people don't get it. MI produces no energy (except burning landfill gas). We don't have oil, natural gas, coal, or uranium deposits. We don't have large rivers to dam. If we are sick of sending all our money to Texas, Persian Gulf, and Appalachia, we need to excel in conservation and sustainable energy engineering/manufacturing/production. Right now, wind is our only option. We should do whatever it takes to get wind manufacturers here. If that means paying more for electricity in the short-term, do it. If it means bending environmental regulations, do it. If it means partnering our Universities with Ann Arbor, do it.
shepard145
Sun, Aug 9, 2009 : 12:14 p.m.
A Michigan made wind turbine? LOL Well thanks to the worst governor in Michigan history, every household in Michigan has seen a 20% + increase in your electrical bill and that's only the FIRST WAVE OF INCREASES. Much of that increase is due to the recession and people fleeing Michigan. Sales of power has DECLINED in the last year but our power supplier is GUARANTEED AN 11% PROFIT as NEGOTIATED BY THE STATE OF MICHIGAN. So guess what - the more power we conserve, the HIGHER AND FASTER RATES WILL INCREASE to maintain that guaranteed 11% profit! On top of that, democrats have pushed through a finance plan for wind turbine companies who MIGHT some day locate here. These companies have made it perfectly clear that Michigan's skilled work force and industry is an insufficient asset for them to build a plant here (there are at least 11 plants elsewhere in the country) - so they DEMANDED A GUARANTEED MARKET ESTABLISHED BY STATE LAW. So granholm and her democrats were intimidated into pushing through a "10% green energy" REQUIREMENT that mandates that all of us suffer yet more ELECTRICAL BILL INCREASES to pay for power the market doesn't want or need in the HOPE of luring a plant here!! OUR ELECTRICAL BILLS WILL BE PAYING FOR HER HOPES OF FUTURE WIND TURBINE JOBS!! Further, democrat demands for CAP AND TRADE Bill claims to change the earth's weather in exchange for raising your electrical bills astronomically - in this case equal to a new CAR PAYMENT every month!
Alan Benard
Sat, Aug 8, 2009 : 2:17 p.m.
@ clan: It would be difficult to anchor wind turbines in the landfill, as it is still settling and is sealed. When the dog park was put in at the corner of Platt and Ellsworth, dirt had to be dumped to build berms to stick the fence posts into to avoid breaking the seal. As it is, the landfill is already producing electricity for Ann Arbor thanks to the use of recaptured methane.
Craig Lounsbury
Sat, Aug 8, 2009 : 12:12 p.m.
Maybe "we the people" should add a solar panel that could run a fan that could turn the wind turbine. That way if the sun happens to be shinning but the wind isn't blowing we can still make some electricity. Perhaps the University and the city should team up on a PO Box where we can just send our wallets. Whatever they don't need they can send back.
Craig Lounsbury
Sat, Aug 8, 2009 : 12:05 p.m.
It seems to me the headline is a bit misleading. It should read "assorted government employees agree to spend tax payer money again on questionable projects" The only private sector money mentioned at all was from GE and that was iffy.
shepard145
Sat, Aug 8, 2009 : 11:27 a.m.
The "wind turbine" at Skyline is charging a 12 volt battery sitting on a shelf. Very effective at "demonstrating" what a wasteful, embarrassing form of energy our governor is jamming down our throats. Last year we read that the Huron river dams in AA do not generate power because the cost of operating them exceeds the value of the power they would produce....okay.....so what's the story on the "wind turbine"? LOL
Doctor5X
Sat, Aug 8, 2009 : 11:17 a.m.
1 wind turbine = X Student Tuition Assistance? Stick to the Mission, Blue.
timjbd
Sat, Aug 8, 2009 : 9 a.m.
I did a story about wave energy out in Oregon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVtieG02rxA (The company, Finavera, has since gone out of business). It would seem- to the layman- that the more manageable waves of the great lakes and the fact that the water is fresh, not salty, would both be advantages at least in the development phase. No? Also, I was just up in the UP and if you look out across Whitefish Bay you can see all the dozens of windmills lining the Canadian side. Providing them with all that clean, unlimited power. A beautiful sight! On our side? Nothing.
Nathan Bomey
Fri, Aug 7, 2009 : 5:50 p.m.
Shirley, great question actually. In fact, there's a University of Michigan spinoff company called Vortex Hydro Energy that is developing a device that would be able to harness water currents to generate electricity. I wrote more about the company in this story: http://www.mlive.com/rebrandingmichigan/index.ssf/2008/09/clean_energy_getting_a_more_cr.html
clan
Fri, Aug 7, 2009 : 5:22 p.m.
How about the hill at the old landfill site off Elsworth Rd.?
Shirley Zempel
Fri, Aug 7, 2009 : 4:01 p.m.
Sounds great. What about the old Pfizer land? Or Peach Mountain as sites for the wind turbine. Also, wonder if Michigan has thought of using wave energy from the Great Lakes. I have read about it being tried off the California coast. The Great Lakes don't have as much wave energy, but might work. Just a thought.