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March 2002

State Roundups
Upper Peninsula

Harnessing the wind

To cross from Michigan's Upper Peninsula to the rest of the state one must navigate the windy Mackinac Straits. Mackinaw City, on the other side, has learned to make the most of those constant strong winds to generate electricity.

Recently, two of five planned wind turbines came online as part of a $1.9 million project that will eventually produce enough power to supply 700 homes each year and provide more than one-third of the city's energy. In addition to being located on the city's sewage treatment property, by the end of the year, the turbines will generate power to the sewage treatment plant as well.

During the first four days of operation, the two 320-foot turbines produced 60,000 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 10 homes for a year.

Sawyer AFB—boon and bane

Following September 11 many airlines and airports began taking the heat from a drop in travel, but Marquette County's Sawyer International Airport posted its best year in 2001 with a 25 percent increase in passengers.

Marquette's airport, which was moved from Negaunee Township to the closed Sawyer Air Force Base in 1999, was one of only four Michigan airports that did not experience flight reductions after September 11.

While the former Air Force airfield has been transformed successfully into the regional airport and other base redevelopment efforts have taken place, the county is faced with disposing of two white elephant buildings on the base.

The base's command center and hospital have been vacant since the Air Force left in 1995 and have become very expensive for the county to maintain. In a creative marketing effort, Marquette County will offer the buildings rent-free to any businesses that would create 400 jobs and retain them for five years. At the end of those five years, the county would hand over the deed at no charge.

—Kathy Cobb