Wind farm proposed for Huron-Manistee

MICHIGAN - An alternative energy company says it wants to place 20 to 28 large wind turbines near the Lake Michigan shoreline in the Huron-Manistee National Forest.

White Pines Wind Farm LLC is a subsidiary of BP PLC and has applied for a special use permit with the U.S. Forest Service.

Each turbine would be 420 feet high from ground to blade tips and would generate 2.5 megawatts of energy. If all 28 are constructed, the project would produce 70 megawatts — enough to supply 20,000 homes.

Project manager Stephen Pulich says the electricity would go into the power grid for use in the Manistee area.

Forest Service spokesman Ken Arbogast says it probably will take a year to consider the proposal.