In all, 76 people completed survey.   Most (44) have lived in the area for over five years.  Of these, 18 were from Houghton (49931), 5 from Hancock (49930), 5 from Chassell (49916), 2 from Calumet (49913), 3 from Atlantic Mine (49905), 3 from Lake Linden (49945), and 8 from assorted zip codes in the area.  In addition, 27 students and five relatively new residents completed the survey.

View: Survey Questions and Results.

View: Graphical Data

View detailed written responses:*

Question 5.  Are there any general comments on the siting of wind turbines in the local area that you would like to make? If so, please do so here.  

Question 8.   Are there any comments related to wind power policies that you would like to make? If so, please do so here.

Question 11. Is there anything that you would like to comment on in regards to residential wind turbines? If so, please indicate what that is here.

Question 13.   Do you have any additional comments about the future of wind power in the local area? If so, please comment here.

* Comments containing information that might identify specific people have been removed.

Most people supported the local development of wind power resources, both in terms of commercial development (82%) and residential use (85%).   Many people also found turbines to be visually appealing (44%).   Most also believed that wind power development would benefit the local economy (73%), with 25% neutral and only 2% disagreeing.   Even when asked about more specific locations, most people remained supportive of development.

Clearly, people with an interest in wind power were likely to complete the survey.   However, given how we publicized the survey, people who might strongly oppose the development of wind power for aesthetic reasons or environmental concerns also had a chance to respond.  While people did express concerns, it is safe to conclude that significant interest and support for local wind power development exists.  

When asked to rank their preference for the type of wind power development (residential turbines, clusters of 1-3 large turbines, or large wind farms), most people (89%) identified commercial clusters as their first (51%) or second choice (38%).   When asked if they would be willing to pay extra to support a local, commercial-scale turbine, most people said that they would, with 76% willing to pay at least $5 per month.   Given that only a small number of people currently participate in UPPCO’s Green Energy program (which supports renewable energy in Wisconsin), this suggests that having the renewable source of energy be local may be important.   It also suggests thata willingness to support a local demonstration project is likely to exist.

Many people identified themselves as being knowledgeable or very knowledgeable about the environmental benefits of wind power (75%), the environmental concerns associated with wind power (60%), and the economics of wind power (45%) but much fewer were familiar with “renewable energy portfolio standards” (12%).   Given that “renewable energy portfolio standards” are a key state-level policy tool for encouraging the development of commercial wind power, this suggests an important gap in public understanding about the importance of such policies in the development of wind power resources.  States such as Michigan, which do not have a “renewable energy portfolio standard,” are much less likely to develop their wind power resources than states that do.