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Nearly lost in the early debate over offshore wind farms in Michigan are the potential jobs that an established wind energy industry could create here, economic development officials say.

Since Scandia Wind LLC unveiled plans in December for a large scale wind farm on Lake Michigan, much of the talk has centered on whether offshore turbines would spoil the lake view.

But regional leaders, economic developers and industry officials say the offshore wind farm proposal from the Norwegian development company could spark a West Michigan wind energy industry that could lead to thousands of jobs.

Scandia officials are expected to retool their message—along with shrinking and reshaping the wind farm—to remind a region with double-digit unemployment rates that offshore and onshore wind farms could launch a multibillion-dollar wind turbine industry.

“The wind farm creates a tremendous home market,” said Scandia’s project manager Harald Dirdal of the proposed 1,000-megawatt Aegir Wind Farm, which would be in Lake Michigan off the Oceana-Mason county line. “This doesn’t happen by itself.”

And a turbine manufacturer needs parts production — a particular skill that West Michigan knows well. A turbine has 8,000 parts that could be made by West Michigan companies now supplying the automotive, office furniture or other manufacturing sectors, Scandia officials said.

“In many ways, it becomes a simple welding project,” Dirdal said of constructing a turbine. “But businesses that want to take a stake in the industry are going to have to begin to prepare before the (wind farm) project comes here.”

Read the full story at: mlive.com

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