Great Lakes wind could supply one-third of U.S. electricity

No sooner was the Great Lakes Basin Compact approved in October of 2008 than wind turbine consortiums and manufacturers started talking about the potential of Great Lakes wind to deliver massive amounts of clean energy to the Upper Midwest.

Their hopes and statistics are based on several wind distribution maps. The first, a government-sponsored wind mapping system, shows eastern Wisconsin having the greatest potential. A Wikipedia resource confirms this, and adds the Upper Peninsula area in Michigan as having wind speeds from 12 to 15 miles per hour offshore, with winds exceeding 20 miles per hour on Lake Michigan itself. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, a division of the Department of Energy, rates offshore wind speeds at both Lake Superior and Lake Michigan as ‘good', and wind speeds over the lakes themselves as ‘excellent'.

Clearly the potential is there. On October 1, the Land Policy Institute of MSU released a study (in PDF format) showing that 100,000 wind turbines located off the coast of Michigan could produce almost 322,000 megawatts of energy.

To get an idea of the phenomenal amount of power that represents, consider the fact that one megawatt can power up to 300 homes. This means 322,000 megawatts can electrify up to 96 million homes! It's not just a pipe dream, either. Institute members and some wind power consortiums agree the project is feasible, "once depth, technology, view and environmental concerns" are addressed.

Great Lakes Wind Could Supply One-third of U.S. Electricity

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