The Wind Farms of Gratiot County

Michigan's freshest farms aren't all organic.   Steely wind turbines are sprouting up like Jack's beanstalk throughout mid-Michigan.

These soaring white windmills reach nearly five hundred feet into the clear blue sky.

North of Lansing, as traffic quiets and the skies opens up, these graceful giants appear on the horizon just over the Maple River.  Row upon row of twirling turbines rotate at an individual pace, dipping gracefully in the breeze.

The propellers move without apparent regard to wind speed.  Some stand ghostly still while others spin slowly with the invisible breeze.  Towering over corn and bean fields, the wind turbines of Michigan are a clean yet prominent source of energy. 

Gratiot County is home to one hundred thirty three turbines spread over thirty three thousand rolling acres.  That's twenty percent of the entire state's wind crop.  Visible from Interstate 127, the towers are best appreciated via a detour down a quiet country road.

By 2015, power companies are required to rely upon renewable energy for at least fifteen percent of their source. 

The wind farmers of Michigan are keeping them on target.  Still, it's not perfect, there's some noise and environmental displacement during installation of the massive monuments.

Harvesting wind not only provides citizens with a clean source of energy--it helps feed at least two hundred fifty farm families. 

And that's not hot air!

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