Discussions have been taking place at St. Marys Cement Plant in Charlevoix Township of producing wind-generated electricity at the facility.
"We have a desire, it's a good thing to do," said Courtney Schmidt, St. Marys environmental director.
Wind-generated electricity requires the use of windmills or "wind turbines." Wind turbines use wind forces to spin the rotor of the turbine and drive the shaft of an electric generator.
Schmidt said moving forward with the project would require using an anemometer to study the velocity of wind on the property. Preliminary plans are in the works for a wind study.
"We're pursuing the next logical step in the process," Schmidt said. "We'd like to do one, we have not solicited quotes to do one."
Schmidt said he is acknowledging community concerns of noise and light flicker that can be generated from wind turbines that are improperly designed.
"We're cognizant of the fact that there are some issues associated with it," Schmidt said. "We have to talk to the community to make sure what we're doing is consistent with what they want to do."
Bill Henne, President of Water and Air Team Charlevoix (W.A.T.C.H) said distance needs to be considered when placing the turbines but if the plant can work it out, it would be a pretty great thing.
"They may have place on the property that would be suitable for that purpose," Henne said.
Last year, Schmidt was approached by a Charlevoix resident who mentioned that the plant could be at the perfect location to generate wind power. Since then, Schmidt and others at the plant have been discussing the feasibility of generating wind power on plant property.