GLIN==> New publication: Best Practices for Sustainable Wind Energy Development in the Great Lakes Region

For immediate release: July 19, 2011

 

New publication: Best Practices for Sustainable Wind Energy Development in
the Great Lakes Region

http://www.glc.org/announce/11/07bestpractices.html 

 

 

A new online guide to advancing wind energy while protecting the environment
and addressing community concerns was released today by the Great Lakes Wind
Collaborative (GLWC), a public/private coalition of interests promoting wind
energy development within the Great Lakes region.

 

Best Practices for Sustainable Wind Energy Development in the Great Lakes
Region highlights policies and practices to ensure wind development is
environmentally protective, sensitive to community concerns and maximizes
economic development potential. Best Practices for turbine siting, noise,
environmental impacts and financial mechanisms are among the 18 “best
practices,” which cover all phases of developing a wind energy project, from
initial planning to operations and eventual decommissioning of spent
turbines. Each best practice features a case example of that practice in
action in the Great Lakes region or across the country.

 

“The stakeholders of the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative are steadfast in
their belief that the need for renewable energy in the region must be
balanced with sound economics and protection of the Great Lakes basin
ecosystem,” said Terry Yonker, GLWC Steering Committee co-chair and
president of Marine Services Diversified, LLC . “The development of wind
power requires us to utilize the best practices that are available to us to
insure that what results meets the highest possible standards of
acceptance.”

 

The best practices were identified through a year-long process that included
a literature review, online survey and interviews under the guidance of a
Great Lakes Wind Collaborative workgroup that included environmental groups,
industry, academia, and federal, state and local government regulators.  The
project was coordinated by the Great Lakes Commission, a compact of the
eight Great Lakes states and the provinces of Ontario and Québec based in
Ann Arbor, Michigan.

 

“These best practices will serve as a catalyst for innovation that will
drive community and economic reinvention, diversification and development in
the Great Lakes region,” said Mark Clevey, GLWC Steering Committee co-chair
and manager of Consumer Education & Renewable Energy Programs for the
Michigan Energy Office.  

 

"Best Practices will help us develop wind farms to help meet our growing
energy needs in an environmentally sustainable way,” added Matt Wagner, wind
site development manager at DTE Energy. “Good project planning always
involves communicating with our customers." 

 

Although federal siting guidelines exist, ultimate decisions about whether
and how a wind farm gets built are made at the state and local levels. The
best practices identified in the report include both those that have been
tested and shown to be effective, as well as new practices identified by
experts as needed for future wind developments. They are intended to provide
guidance for regulators, researchers, and wind industry interests who can
choose from a mix of policies and practices that best advance the
development of responsible and clean Great Lakes wind energy within a given
locality, state or region.

 

Best Practices for Sustainable Wind Energy Development in the Great Lakes
Region can be found on the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative web site at
http://www.glc.org/energy/wind/bestpractices.html.

 

Contact: Victoria Pebbles, 734-971-9135 or  vpebbles at glc.org.

 

 

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