Meridian Wind, a $300 million project in Porter, Mount Haley, and Jonesfield townships, will be one of Michigan’s largest wind farms. Meridian’s 77 wind turbines will create enough clean energy to power more than 78,000 homes once they are operational.
In Michigan, how many wind turbines are there?
With over 750 turbines producing over 1368 MW of electricity, Michigan has the largest installed wind energy base in the Great Lakes region.
In Michigan, which county has the most wind turbines?
The state’s first commercial wind turbine, a 0.6 MW type, was placed in Traverse City in 1996. For several years, it was the only turbine in the area. Traverse City Light & Power has established a goal of generating 30% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Mackinaw City constructed two turbines, each rated at 0.6 MW, in 2001. In 2005, Laker Elementary School in the Thumb region installed three 65KW turbines and one 10KW turbine for a total of 0.2 MW.
The Harvest Wind Farm in the Thumb, which inaugurated in December 2007 with 32 turbines producing a rated 53 MW, was the state’s first wind farm. The county with the most wind turbines in Michigan is Huron.
Wind power generated 0.3 percent of Michigan’s electrical electricity in 2010. In 2011, installed wind capacity more than doubled, reaching 377 MW nameplate capacity.
The 385 MW Isabella Wind Project, created by Apex Clean Energy and acquired by DTE, became operational in 2021, making it Michigan’s largest wind farm.
How many windmills are there in Michigan’s Thumb?
The Thumb of Michigan (Huron, Sanilac, and Tuscola) currently has 836 turbines in operation, producing 1584 MW of energy.
Which part of Michigan has the best wind potential?
Michigan is not a windy state, but state officials would have you believe otherwise. Michigan’s legislature has promoted the wind industry, requiring that a greater percentage of the state’s electricity be generated from wind. Typically, these regulations are based on the idea that wind energy would become cost competitive in the future. For a while, this appeared to be the case, but in Michigan, wind energy prices have remained stable or have even begun to rise. Unfortunately, with protective federal tax policies being phased away and the finest wind farm areas being leased, it appears unlikely that costs will increase.
The renewable energy mandate is an important part of Michigan’s energy strategy. The law, which was first established as Public Act 295 in 2008, required electric utilities to derive 10% of their retail electricity sales from renewable sources. In December 2016, Public Act 342, which mandates utilities to obtain 15% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2021, was added to the mandate.
Wind and biomass sources supply the majority of renewable generation in Michigan today, accounting for approximately 53 and 28 percent of Michigan’s renewable energy, respectively, according to the Energy Information Administration. Solar supplies less than 1%, whereas hydroelectric produces about 18%.
Much of Michigan’s interest in growing wind power is due to the renewable energy mandate. There have been huge artificial incentives to build wind energy facilities when combined with generous federal subsidies. These laws and development are funded by federal taxes and renewable energy surcharges on monthly electric bills, which are paid for by Michigan taxpayers and citizens.
Renewable energy costs were always expected to be high at first, according to energy experts; champions maintained that this was a relatively new business that needed to establish its bearings. Ratepayers were assured, however, that immediate economic and policy assistance would not be required for long. Wind energy would decline in price and begin to outcompete other options after enough expertise was accumulated in developing and operating wind installations.
Those predictions looked to be right at first. Contract rates for utility wind projects fell dramatically between 2010 and 2012. However, price reductions in Michigan were halted for four years, and in 2016, they actually climbed. The price problems were exacerbated by a recent wind contract for the Pine River wind park near Alma. This contract, which is one of the most costly wind contracts signed in the United States in 2016, raises Michigan wind costs to about $60 per megawatt-hour.
The financial firm Lazard publishes an annual report on the levelized cost of energy to put this pricing in context. Market rates for wind are predicted to range from $30 to $60 per megawatt hour, according to their 2017 forecast. Contract prices in Iowa and Oklahoma are as low as $20 per MWh, less than a third of what wind costs in Michigan.
Prices for Michigan’s Weighted Average Wind Contracts ($/MWh) PA. 295 report from 2017.
The pricing differences are mostly due to the fact that the best wind resources in Michigan are also some of the worst wind resources in Iowa. The only regions in Michigan with wind speeds equivalent to interior states like Iowa and Oklahoma are in the middle of the Great Lakes, as seen by wind speed maps. Offshore wind turbines, on the other hand, are unpopular and substantially more expensive to construct.
Utilities and wind developers know where to find the best onshore wind resources, which is why Huron, Tuscola, and Sanilac counties were chosen as the preferred locations for Michigan’s wind farms. The remaining counties in Michigan have average wind speeds that are on the low end of national wind resources.
With its September 2017 order, the Michigan Public Service Commission, the state agency in charge of overseeing Michigan’s energy system, adds to the obstacles. Starting in 2022, a minimum percentage of electricity consumed in Michigan must be generated locally, a mandate known as the local clearing requirement. This verdict could force Michigan residents to pay $60 per MWh for wind energy produced in the state rather than the $20 per MWh for wind energy produced in other states.
For Michigan residents, expanding wind development is becoming an increasingly pricey prospect. There would be reason to applaud the expansion of this business in Michigan if it were not subsidized or mandated, but still made economic sense given wind resources and market circumstances.
Wind energy appears to be produced in Michigan solely as a result of politicians forcing it into the system. Utilities and wind developers both benefit from high contract prices. The costs of this approach, on the other hand, are borne by ratepayers and taxpayers. The numbers don’t add up in Michigan for more wind projects, so lawmakers should reevaluate the state’s renewable energy regulations.
Who owns all of Michigan’s windmills?
69 of the turbines are owned by Invenergy. DTE is the owner of 64 of them. All of the energy generated here is fed into the DTE Energy infrastructure, which means that energy created in central Michigan is sent to southeast Michigan.
A total of 212.5 megawatts of renewable energy is generated by the wind farm. By 2015, all power firms in the state must generate 10% of their energy from renewable sources.
In Hillsdale County, Michigan, how many windmills are there?
The wind farm’s 60 turbines are scattered throughout Adams, Moscow, and Wheatland townships, with a total capacity of 64,000 people. The project was built by Illinois-based Invenergy, and Consumers Energy bought it for $250 million in 2019.
How big are the wind turbines in Michigan?
With the completion of its Polaris Wind Park in mid-Gratiot Michigan’s County, DTE Energy has turned on Michigan’s largest set of wind turbines.
In a news statement issued Thursday, the utility stated that the 68 new turbines create “enough renewable energy to power more than 64,000 homes.”
According to a corporate representative, the announcement coincided with the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.
It also comes just days after GM stated that within three years, all of its operations in southeast Michigan will run on clean and renewable energy. GM announced Monday that it has purchased 500,000 megawatt hours of solar energy from DTE Energy’s MIGreenPower program.
When the tip of a turbine blade is at its maximum point, the new wind turbines stand approximately 500 feet tall, according to Cindy Hecht, a senior communications strategist with DTE.
Do the Great Lakes have wind turbines?
Offshore wind turbines are being employed in a number of countries to capture and convert the energy of moving air over the oceans. In the Great Lakes region, the total offshore wind potential is approximately 700 gigawatts.
In Michigan, where are wind turbine blades manufactured?
A large-scale wind turbine maker hopes to settle in Saginaw, according to the Detroit Free Press. Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vt., plans to build its next-generation big wind turbines in Saginaw, which will be the first in the United States to use 100 percent American-made parts.
In Michigan, where do wind turbine blades get made?
A significant wind turbine maker hopes to settle in Saginaw, according to the Detroit Free Press. Northern Power Systems of Barre, Vt., plans to build its next-generation big wind turbines in Saginaw, which will be the first ones manufactured entirely of American parts.