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Published on April 24th, 2012 | by Joshua S Hill

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Great Lakes Could be Home to Floating Wind Turbines

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April 24th, 2012 by  

 
Some residents on the shores of Lake Michigan don’t want turbines cluttering up their views, so they put a stop to the Scandia Offshore Wind project set for the waters of Lake Michigan in Oceana and Mason Counties. Now, however, new floating turbine technology could bring a wind farm to the waters of Lake Michigan without raising the ire of such residents; by placing them beyond sight.

“I get it … I understand how waterfront property owners feel about turbines in front of their houses,” said Charles Nordstrom, the senior engineer on the Glosten Associates PelaStar project who grew up on the shores of Lake Erie. “The Scandia project had a chilling effect on offshore wind in the Great Lakes. With PelaStar, we are going to melt that chill.”

The PelaStar floating wind turbine platforms are made by The Glosten Associates, a Seattle-based engineering group focused on marine technology. Together with Grand Valley State University and Michigan Technological University, Glosten is seeking federal funding for initial engineering and design of their floating turbine technology.

The technology would allow for wind turbines to be placed on Lake Michigan where they would not be visible from shore.

“With offshore wind, 80 percent of the problem is visibility, which is a big issue,” said Arn Boezaart, MAREC director and member of the former Michigan Offshore Wind Council. “This is technology that wants to be in deep water, not near shore.”

The PelaStar technology has been in development for six years and has been tank tested, but Glosten want to now install full-scale prototypes to continue testing.

The platform on which the turbine is installed is highly buoyant and is held in place by “tendons” which are attached to the lake or sea bottom with anchors. The buoyant base which wants to rise and the tension created as it is pulled down creates a technology that is good at staying upright. “The wind turbine will always stay vertical and it performs as if it was anchored,” Nordstrom said.

An initial letter of intent has been sent to federal energy officials and must now be followed up with a final proposal by May 31. Boezaart said federal decisions on funding should be announced in the Fall.

“The consortium is looking for partners to help finance the project,” Boezaart said. “The federal government eventually wants a prototype designed, engineered and in the water.”

Source: MLive and Glosten Associates

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About the Author

I'm a Christian, a nerd, a geek, and I believe that we're pretty quickly directing planet-Earth into hell in a handbasket! I also write for Fantasy Book Review (.co.uk), and can be found writing articles for a variety of other sites. Check me out at about.me for more.


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  • The Messenger

    These floating turbines will never generate even 1 kilowatt of electricity because locating them in the Great Lakes is illegal and will be challenged through the court system! The Public Trust Doctrine prevents development of this kind that tampers with bathing, water recreation, fishing, and commerce & shipping within the Great Lakes and one need only look at history to learn the legal ramifications that stretch back to the 1890’s in Chicago. Without a doubt any offshore Great Lakes wind development will be met with expensive legal challenges by those who know what a fraud wind energy is.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/김민우/100001353825211 김민우

    As you know, they have to reduce the vibration to install Floating Wind Turbines on Lake Michigan, too. I agree with you that Great Lakes Could be Home to Floating Wind Turbines. But, they have to solved the vibration problems. Because, it makes many kinds of problems! The vibration’s caused by wind, waves and external forces. New Floating Body Stabilizer for Floating Wind Turbines has been created in South Korea. The Floating Body Stabilizers generate drag force immediately when Floating Wind Turbines are being rolled and pitched on the water. Recently, this Floating Body Stabilizer’s using to reduce the
    Vibration of Floating Solar Panels in South Korea. You can see New Floating Body Stabilizer videos in YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moO–q5B92k, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nA_xFp5ktbU&feature=youtu.be. Anyways, very interesting. Thanks.

  • http://twitter.com/MatthewLRose Matthew Rose

    I wonder how they plan to address wind pushing large ice masses across the lake into the turbines bases. Does any here know if there are any off-shore turbines having to deal with floating ice?

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