Consumers Energy launches large solar project near Muskegon

Jackson-based utility Consumers Energy broke ground today on what would be Michigan’s second-largest solar energy project, under a partnership with Muskegon County.

Spanning nearly 2,000 acres at the county’s Resource Recovery Center, the Muskegon Solar Energy Center will be a 250 megawatt facility once operational in 2026. Ranger Power’s 347 MW Assembly solar project in Shiawassee County is Michigan’s largest solar project to date, while Chicago-based Invenergy last year brought online a 200 MW project in Calhoun County.

The Muskegon County project is Consumers’ first self-owned large-scale solar project, and represents an early step in the company’s plan to build or contract for 8,000 MW of solar by 2040.

“The Muskegon Solar Energy Center is proof positive that we can tap solar to deliver transformative economic and environmental benefits to residents and the communities they call home,” David Hicks, Consumers Energy’s vice president of clean energy development, said in a statement.

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Under the arrangement, Consumers will own and operate the solar project while leasing the property beneath it from the county as well as Moorland Township.

The sprawling 11,000-acre Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center site just north of M-46 near Wolf Lake includes a wastewater treatment facility as well as areas for hunting and birdwatching.

Previously unsuccessful efforts to develop wind and solar at the site date back nearly a decade.

While solar energy now makes up a small percentage of Michigan’s electricity portfolio, and pales in comparison to the amount of wind energy operating here, it’s poised to play a key role in the state’s long-term clean energy targets.

Signed into law late last year by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Public Act 235 creates a new 100% clean energy standard for utilities by 2040 and sets an interim standard of 80% by 2035. Renewables specifically are required to make up 50% of the state’s portfolio by 2030. In 2022, renewables made up about 16% of the state’s mix.

In the face of local opposition to large-scale renewable energy projects, separate legislation signed last year also gives the Michigan Public Service Commission more oversight of large projects and the ability to approve applications for projects of “statewide significance.”

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