Got a break in the weather the other day and got myself up to Caseville, on the shores of Saginaw Bay, in Michigan’s thumb.
Caseville is kind of a resort, harbor and beach community, but surrounded by large tracts of farmed land. The constant breezes here made this the first area in Michigan to attract large scale wind parks, and local farmers were pro-active in making it happen.
I met with 5th generation farmer Randall Elenbaum, who gave me some history of the projects, and the farmers who banded together originally to bring wind into the community, held together in the face of fossil fuel organized opposition, and whose communities are reaping the benefits today.
Before the advent of wind, the peninsula needed a bigger pipe to carry electricity both in and out.
“It’s kind of a hidden secret” Elenbaum told me, that, for folks near the water’s edge in the thumb’s tip, Refrigerators had a short life due to the variable voltage. Now that’s changed.
The advent of a 345 Kv “Thumb Loop” transmission line opened up the wind and now, solar resources of the area, while solving the problem of wonky electric service and low voltage in thumb communities.
Elenbaum told me how farmer’s banded together cooperatively, to interview developers, and find the one willing to respect their choices and meet their criteria.
That guy is amazingly articulate.