There was some interest shown in the past about a VAWT wind power project in Ishpeming, Michigan by McKenzie Bay International Limited.. It was supposed to be finished in 2006. It is still not done, and there is some question whether the company still exists. Also, at least one law suit has been filed against the company, but not involving the project.
I reported about a potential scam in my area here:
http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2007/10/26/153113/19
More information is now available. A Traverse City, Michigan company called Heritage Sustainable Energy LLC has been securing leases along a ridge parallel to Lake Superior that extends from Liminga to Oskar Bay, Michigan. I'm not sure about the Oskar Bay designation, though, as my property that I Mention in the link is, in my view, on the East end of the ridge where it slopes eastward down to the Portage Shipping Canal. I'm about 2.5 miles from Oskar Bay. The entire ridge length would be about 5 miles long. It should be a good area for wind power.
Currently the company reports that it has secured 15 to 20 leases. They say they want to put in a wind farm on 2 to 3 thousand acres of land. They plan to do an evaluation of the actual wind power available once they have enough leases. I think they also need to look at putting in a high tension line as the area really doesn't have enough population to use all the power a wind farm would provide. As reported before, the landowners are just getting a nominal amount for the leases.
The company claims to be currently installing two 2.5 MW wind generators in Missaukee county. I'd like to get up close and personal to one of those in a 30 mph wind to see how much noise they make.
