Grand Valley State University launched its new offshore wind data buoy at the end of September. After calibration tests in Muskegon Lake, it will take up station in Lake Michigan to begin collecting wind data at altitude over the lake for the first time, using LIDAR technology. The economic development opportunity presented by this project, supported in part by funding from DOE, WE Energy, and Sierra Club, has been jeopardized by the suspension of a previously promised State of Michigan grant. [A recent court decision found the grant money was to come from a fund that no longer had statutory authorization.] It is imperative that the State of Michigan show its ongoing support for science, research, and the future energy policy of Michigan by immediately replacing (and even expanding) the funding for this multi-disciplinary, multi-university research project that holds great promise for economic development in our state. Michigan has used its natural resources – oil and gas, timber, mineral deposits, water – to grow the economy of the state. Is the next economic development answer blowing in the offshore wind? Let’s find out!