Wind farm in Ubly Michigan, photo by Ray Dumas RTD Photography
An in-depth article on the cost of renewable energy in Michigan in the Muskegon Chronicle notes that although a common argument from wind turbine opponents is that wind farms will significantly increase our electric bills, the State of Michigan reports initial contracts show significantly lower costs than the power generated from new coal plants. This excellent feature on the hard numbers and debate on renewable energy is well worth a read.
State regulators find the current cost of a new coal power plant over the life of the facility is $133 per mega watt hour of production.
Based on more than two dozen actual renewable energy contracts for solar, wind and bio-gas generated electricity, the average price is about $100 per mega watt hour of production. Bio-mass incineration is at $98, wind $101, landfill gas $113, digesters $128 and several small-scale solar installations at approximately $500.
“Wind is competitive with coal and natural gas on cost as long as you find the best winds,” said Paul Isely, the head of Grand Valley State University’s economic department.
See this photo and others from the wind farm in Ubly bigger in Ray’s alternative energy slideshow.
Michigan in Pictures 
and when the wind doesn’t blow how much does it cost then? Look at the beautiful barn with the ugly turbines guess some farmer is making a lot of extra green. Thought I was subscribing to a photo website not green propaganda
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The wind blows in Michigan pretty much all the time. The article says that this is true if you intelligently locate wind farms. I fail to see how posting a link to an article that has some very interesting information about Michigan’s energy future constitutes propaganda.
I am very committed to preserving, protecting and enhancing Michigan’s natural resources and in my opinion, wind turbines do a much better job of that than coal plants. Coal plants drain money from Michigan because we’re not a coal-producing state, so I guess this is pro-economic propaganda as well. The “ugly” turbines are also commonly sited on farms with money paid to farmers for the lease, so is this a pro-farming post too?
You are free to unsubscribe if you’re not comfortable with the tone of this blog, because I sure as heck am not going to change the tone.
PS: If you’re interested in energy options, here’s some nuclear power:
https://michpics.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/nuclear-wetlands-enrico-fermi-nuclear-power-plant/
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Love the photo. Love the article as well. Thanks!
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