Cherryland’s power supplier, Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc. announced yesterday that it has entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement with Exelon Generation, one of the nation’s leading competitive power generators, for 153 megawatts (MW) of new wind generation in Michigan’s Thumb region.
The wind power will be supplied from the Michigan Wind 3 project, which will be located in Sanilac County, Michigan. Exelon is scheduled to begin construction on the project in spring 2016 and begin commercial operation by December 2016.
“With the addition of this project, Cherryland will get 30% of its energy from renewable sources, giving us the largest renewable energy portfolio of any utility in our region by early 2017,” said Cherryland’s General Manager, Tony Anderson.
Wolverine currently receives approximately 50 MW of wind energy from the Harvest Wind Farm located between Elkton and Pigeon, Michigan. Wolverine will also receive 150 MW of wind energy from the new Deerfield Wind Energy project located in Huron County, Michigan, when it achieves commercial operation, scheduled for late 2016. The addition of the Michigan Wind 3 project will make the Wolverine family of co-ops the renewable energy leaders in Michigan.
“Wolverine is excited about the addition of Michigan Wind 3 to its portfolio,” states Eric Baker, President and CEO of Wolverine. “This project positions Wolverine favorably with significant renewable generation. When Michigan Wind 3 is complete, Wolverine expects to have more than 350 MW of wind generation in its portfolio, meaning Michigan cooperatives will achieve a 30 percent renewable level.”
All we want to know is will this make our electric less expensive? We are 78 & 85 & trying to hang in there & pay bills right now after bills we have about $150. for everything else
I do not understand all of this so would you let me know in just “plain ” English?
Sincerely,
Allan & Ruthanne Reiter
Hi Allan and Ruthanne, this contract will help us keep our rates stable which is good news for our members. Keeping our rates affordable and your lights on is our top priority.
What does “affordable” mean. The Reiters still have $150 left over-SO???
Wind projects are subsidized (taxes) and the power generated costs more due to having to pay for not just the wind farm but also for the base and peak power plants that need to provide power when the wind stops and the sun does not shine. Tony Anderson has said this many times.
What is the limit on renewables without something like the Luddington water capacitor (which environmentalists seem to have limited)? I suspect that most environmentalists and the administration have little concept of limits
I do believe that “affordable” is a “wiggle room” word.
Hank LaBate
Hi Hank-
You are correct that wind projects are eligible for tax credits and that renewables require reliable baseload and peaking generation to back them up. We feel confident we can incorporate this wind power into our existing portfolio as a complement to the natural gas-fired peaking plant we are building near Gaylord and our other generation assets.
In terms of affordability, the fact that we haven’t increased our rates since 2011 and don’t anticipate doing so in the near future seems to indicate we are doing something right. We are at a time when most utilities are seeing rising costs and rates; but, the leadership team at Wolverine and Cherryland have been able to deliver stable and even declining rates. In addition, within our service territory, our rates are lower than our main ‘competitor,’ Consumers Energy. So, while affordable may seem like a slippery term, we feel very strongly that we have delivered on our promise to continue to provide reliable, affordable power to our members.