Phase one of a potential three phase industrial wind turbine project is currently being discussed within Clinton County in Bengal and Dallas Townships.  The developer, the Clinton County Assistant Planner, and a member of the Board of Commissioners for Clinton County have stated the following facts at several township meetings and are listed below by bullet points.

First we must understand why the developer needs to install a certain amount of industrial wind turbines in this area.  The developer must install several wind generators in a single project in order to spread fixed costs across multiple units in order to achieve economies of scale in development, construction, operations and maintenance. The developer must establish equal to at least 25 to 35 MW industrial turbine facilities within this given project.  However, greater economies will require even larger developments, but 25-35 MW appears to be a reasonable lower boundary.

Economies of scale suggest why Bengal and Dallas Townships are targeted as phase one and it’s obvious that the developer would financially benefit greatly by installing phase two and three within various townships in Clinton County.  Consequently, the surrounding townships need to be ready when a county wide ordinance is drafted and put before the Board of Commissions to pass and adopt.  The Clinton County Planning & Zoning office wanted to draft the Clinton County Wind Ordinance by simply following the State of Michigan’s general guidelines for zoning an industrial wind turbine.  Unfortunately, our Clinton County Assistant Planner may still adopt these general guidelines like Huron County, Michigan did.  Now, Huron County has several complaints about these industrial turbines and a lawsuit has been filed, however there is no resolution or enforcement procedures to protect the surrounding residents.

You should attend all of your local township meetings and the Clinton County Planning & Zoning meetings to protect your biggest investment, your home.

Facts stated by the Developer, the Clinton County Assistant Planner or a Clinton County Board of Commissioner:

  • The industrial wind turbines will be 1.5 to 1.65 MW, however economies of scale suggest that they may be 2 MW with heights exceeding 400 feet and will have longer blade lengths.
  • The developer stated that 17 to 60 of these industrial turbines will be installed in   phase one of the development.
  • The county wide ordinance will most likely not contain any language pertaining to noise restrictions or contain a section for violation due to the lack of noise enforcement system within Clinton County.
  • The State of Michigan has the most lenient set of guidelines for controlling the placement and operation of industrial wind turbines when compared to other states. 
  • The State of Michigan has a 1,000 feet set back rule from an existing dwelling, not the property line.
  • Clinton County wants to perform an overlay area for these industrial wind turbines and the land will remain zoned agricultural instead of commercial so the farmers do not incur any additional taxes for receiving lease payments.
  • The height of the wind turbines will be a minimum of 392 feet to the tip of the blade and the proposed wind ordinance may not have language restricting the height as the new turbines being built are approximately 600 feet.
  • The blade tip speed will have a velocity exceeding 100 MPH.
  • The project is being marketed as a three phase project.
  • The transformers are typically 37,000 volts and could be pad mounted next to each turbine or located somewhere within the project area. Several additional transformers are required to increase the voltage to match line voltage.
  • The development will be conducted through a land/lease agreement.
  • The developer stated there may be local maintenance workers that maintain the turbines or the employees could be non-local.
  • The maintenance workers may have an office in Fowler, Michigan or it may be located somewhere else.
  • The number of maintenance workers will range from 2 to 6.
  • The structure will be erected by set of temporary specialized construction workers who will most likely not be from the state of Michigan as Michigan workers are not trained in this field.
  • Each turbine base will require 400 yards of concrete and will be 60 feet wide.  
    Only the top 4 feet of concrete will be removed during decommissioning (if the turbines are ever decommissioned) and the remaining concrete will not be removed from the ground.
  • No property value protection will be provided to nonparticipating homeowners or land owners and there has not been a property value study conducted by Clinton County to determine the adverse effects on property values once the turbines are erected.
  • The concrete mix would have to be local; however, the developer never stated that it would be “purchased”.  They could erect their own mixing facility and not hire local contractors.
  • The industrial turbine devices are remotely controlled and monitored.