The possible creation of a wind farm in Lake Michigan moved forward July 15 at a community meeting held by Evanston’s Renewable Energy Resources task force, a section of Citizens for a Greener Evanston

After sending a Request for Information for an offshore wind farm in April, the city has received three responses from potential developers, said Carolyn Collopy, Evanston sustainable programs coordinator. The city didn’t disclose the contents of the responses.

In May, The DAILY reported that the city said they received word that 10 developers planned to respond.

The meeting continued the Citizens for a Greener Evanston’s exploration into the creation of a wind farm. Members of the group, charged with helping Evanston decrease its greenhouse gas emissions 13 percent by 2012, have spent approximately two years developing the proposal, The DAILY reported. The group has proposed the best location for the wind farm as seven miles east of Northwestern’s campus in Lake Michigan.

In an interview with The DAILY last spring, President Morton O. Schapiro expressed favor of wind farm energy.

Citizens for a Greener Evanston’s proposal, originally presented to the City Council in April, is to develop a 40-turbine wind farm which was estimated as able to generate enough energy to power 50,000 homes. There are about 30,000 residences in Evanston.

The creation of a wind farm could also generate jobs.

Concerns about the effects of the turbines on bird populations were addressed by bird conservationist Judy Pollock, who said the turbines would not threaten birds as long as developers situated the wind farm to not interfere with water fowl habitats.

A wind farm is a long rather than short-term response to Evanston’s efforts to be environmentally-friendly. An operational wind farm won’t likely occur before 2018, panelists noted.[email protected]