A new wind park is now up and running in a mid-Michigan county.
According to MLive, the Polaris Wind park by DTE Energy in Gratiot County is now generating enough energy to provide over 64,000 homes with power. The park consists of 68 turbines, which produce 168 megawatts, making Polaris Wind the largest operational wind park in the state of Michigan.
The Polaris Wind park is just one of four new wind parks that DTE is commissioning this year, the company’s news release stated.
DTE is excited to announce that their Polaris Wind park will offset over 355,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year, which would be the same result as if 76,000 cars were taken off the road for a year.
DTE is hoping to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.
President and chief operating officer of DTE Electric, Trevor F. Lauer, explained the long-term positive implications of the wind parks.
“DTE is leading Michigan’s clean energy transformation,” Lauer said in a statement, according to MLive. “Bringing projects like Polaris Wind online provide tremendous benefits for our customers, the environment and the state of Michigan. We are committed to continued growth of our renewable-energy portfolio, including wind and solar, as we work to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
Pine River wind park was opened in Gratiot and Isabella counties last year, which was the company’s 14th and had been the largest wind park in Michigan at the time.
Supporters of wind energy are in favor of the clean energy these parks produce, as well as the income, jobs and tax revenue that come from the turbines.
Greater Gratiot Development (GGD), Inc., reported that between the years 2012 and 2018, the county brought in roughly $43 million in tax revenue from the wind parks alone — a fact that the GGD president Jim Wheeler has lauded.
“Wind development has unquestionably brought increased economic prosperity to Gratiot County,” Wheeler told MLive.
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