GARDEN, MI (AP)-- Eleven people who live near the first wind farm in the Upper Peninsula say the whir of turbines has reduced property values, diminished their sleep and put birds at risk.
They filed a lawsuit last week in federal court against Heritage Sustainable Energy and the U.S. government, seeking to block expansion and require more study on the impacts.
In September, the Traverse City-based company said its consultants found no significant impact on birds.
The wind farm opened in 2012 in Delta County's Garden Peninsula, near the village of Garden. The owner says the 14 turbines can produce the equivalent of a year's electricity for half of the households in the county.