Hello, my name is Leigh and I am the campaign coordinator at Progress Michigan. On Tuesday, Progress Michigan, along with a coalition of 10 other groups, launched a campaign across the state to stop the development of any more coal fired power plants in Michigan. The launch consisted of nine press conferences from Detroit to Lansing to Grand Rapids to Bay City to Traverse City and some in-between. You may of heard some of our coalition members on the radio or seen them covered in your newspaper. The press conferences were a great way to let people know that we mean business and want to see Michigan become a leader in clean, renewable energy, not dirty outdated coal technology. Michigan’s communities deserve better. Our citizens deserve clean breathable air, swimmable lakes, and good-paying jobs. And guess what – CLEAN, RENEWABLE ENERGY is the solution to keeping everything we love about Michigan in great shape!
Another part of the launch was a petition. You can still check it out and add your name to the list. The petition will be sent to legislators asking them to stop any more coal fired power plants from developing in Michigan. It also urges them to instate a renewable energy standard of 20{ef69e4e9e447e52a60027e369ac6a3d796f53805e5a70de1d67ce22dac9553da} by 2020 – which would encourage companies to to invest in manufacturing the renewable technologies like wind turbines and solar panels right here IN MICHIGAN! Which means more jobs and less out-of-state importation of energy materials – like coal. We are also asking legislators to enact a statewide, utility-funded energy efficiency program that would reduce energy consumption in the state by at least 1{ef69e4e9e447e52a60027e369ac6a3d796f53805e5a70de1d67ce22dac9553da} each year! So, check out some of the news hits (see below), sign the petition, and stay tuned for more info to come!
Siting of Wind Turbine Facilities
The township where I work is currently developing a Wind Turbine Ordinance. We are a small township only 3 miles deep and six miles wide. We have six miles of Lake Huron shoreline on our northern border. There are at least two known active eagles nest in the township. We have the Pinnebog and Pigeon rivers on our east and west boundary. In the spring and fall we have numerous species of birds, including, tundra swans, sandhill cranes and canadian geese just to name a small few that migrate through this area. It is not unusal to see 150-200 tundra swans in a farm field resting for a few days during migration season, quite a sight I must add. We also have Rush Lake Game Area in the center of the township. USFWS guidelines for siting of wind turbines state that no turbines should be placed within 3 miles of any great lake and not within 5 miles of eagles nest. Our planning commission supports wind power and is very considerate of evironmental issues. Based on USFWS guidelines the planning commission feels they need to consider the possible impacts of turbines and question if the township is the proper location for a wind farm. There are hundred of thousand of acres in the area more inland that appear to be have excellent siting locations.
My question to your group is, in your support of renewable energy and wind energy do you feel there is a need to respect USFWS recommendations and do you feel that proper siting is important. Thank you.