There are no offshore wind farms in the Great Lakes... yet.
The Muskegon Chronicle reports that "the first floating buoy to test offshore wind energy in Lake Michigan is planned for six miles off the Muskegon shoreline next spring."
Grand Valley State University's Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center is heading up the project. The Center's director, Arn Boezaart, said this buoy will determine what kind of energy potential is out on the water:
"This will give us in-the-water, real-time data using the most advanced wind testing equipment. We don’t have this kind of data right now."
Offshore wind in the Great Lakes is a long way off, and the proposals for offshore wind development will more than likely turn controversial. Coastal communities worry about their scenery and often fight offshore wind proposals. The Muskegon Chronicle has more on a controversy around Pennwater when Scandia Wind proposed a wind farm off that community's shoreline.
