One answer is blowin' in the wind

A multi-billion dollar development project could help harvest the natural wind resource on Lake Michigan to produce clean renewable energy -- and thousands of new jobs.

That's the vision from Scandia Wind Offshore (http://www.scandiawind.com/), a clean-energy development company that outlined an expanded wind farm proposal for West Michigan in a series of meetings last week.

With an investment estimated at $4 billion, the projects could add 3,000 permanent industrial jobs to the region. While construction could be five or more years away -- and wind turbine operations might not begin for nearly 10 years -- there could be strong economic advantages to being first to develop a business hub that facilitates growth. That is, a business cluster might build out a supply chain of parts and services to support find farm developments in a way not unlike the businesses that sprouted to support the auto industry in years past.

"We believe in the 'first mover' advantage, but it is not going to happen by itself," according to Scandia project manager Harald Dirdal as quoted in meeting coverage by the Muskegon Chronicle. "There is a window of opportunity for us to attract a wind turbine manufacturer to build a plant here. The race is on."

The new vision would build on designs for the Aegir 500-megawatt wind farm four miles offshore from Pentwater. Aegir II would be a similarly sized farm six miles from the shore of Grand Haven, and Aegir III would put a smaller farm at the Muskegon County Wastewater Management System, accoring to the Chronicle. In a sum of 50 square miles there would be 50 to 100 wind turbines ranging from 300 to 450 feet in height -- a consideration community planners will weigh heavily when examining potential effects on tourism and overall aesthetics.

Experts say the West Michigan coast is exceptionally well positioned to harvest strong prevailing South/Southwest winds normally registered only in states such as North Dakota and Texas. The region's proximity to major energy consumption centers in Chicago and Detroit also make the transfer of energy efficient an economical. As such the area could become a major industrial hub for harnessed wind energy in decades ahead.