Consumers Energy announces large-scale solar project in Muskegon County

MOORLAND TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — Consumers Energy has announced the details of the utility company’s first large-scale solar project.

The Muskegon Solar Energy Center will use approximately 1,900 acres of land in Moorland Township, in partnership with the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center, to capture enough solar energy to power approximately 40,000 homes.

Construction is set to start next month. As scheduled, the 250-megawatt facility will be up and running by 2026. The Muskegon Solar Energy Center will be part of the utility’s new infrastructure and its goal to generate 8,000 megawatts of solar energy annually by 2040.

“Consumers Energy has some of the most aggressive clean energy goals in the nation, and projects like this are a critical part of achieving those goals,” Consumers Energy Vice President of Clean Energy Development David Hicks said in a statement. “Partnering with an organization like the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center, with its long history of service to the county, combined with the benefits of solar energy and the revenues this agreement can provide, is truly a win-win for all parties.

Consumers Energy plans net-zero carbon emissions by 2040

As part of the partnership, Consumers will own and operate the facility, while Muskegon County, Moorland Township and the MCRRC own the property and collect revenue from the lease.

The utility company has been working with the state as part of the MI Healthy Climate Plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions and move toward renewable energy sources.

Consumers is still on track to be coal-free by 2025, one of the first utility companies in the nation to do so. Overall, their goal is to be carbon neutral and to source at least 90% of their power supply through clean, renewable sources.

“In the long term, the more renewable energy that we bring online, the lower our bills wills be, because it’s obviously cheaper to route the energy that is free, and so we are excited about increasing every year the amount that we have online. We have a very ambitious goal for the number of megawatts by 2040,” Consumers spokesperson Tracy Wimmer said.

Consumers Energy is also working on two other solar facilities, one at the former Karn coal plant in Bay City and a 3,000-acre farm along the border between Barry and Calhoun counties.

—News 8’s Amber Krycka contributed to this report.

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