US utility Consumers Energy proposes to install GE turbines at a 120MW two-phase expansion project in Michigan’s Thumb region.
The 44MW Cross Winds 2 and 76MW Cross Winds 3 wind farms will feature 52 2.3MW-116 machines, Consumers spokesman Dennis Marvin told reNEWS.
The neighboring 111MW Cross Winds scheme, which employs 62 GE 1.79MW-100 machines, came online in 2014.
Changes to the federal production tax credit (PTC) program, as well as increasing demand for renewable energy from large users, such as manufacturers and data centres, led Consumers to speed up development of the expansion projects.
The company intends to qualify for 100% of the PTC, which declines after 2016, by paying 5% of the total capital expenditure to GE before the end of the year.
The combined cost of the two projects is estimated at $250m.
Consumers has applied to Columbia Township for special land use permits for the pair, located in Tuscola County.
The projects will interconnect to the electrical grid at Cross Winds’ existing substation in Akron.
Consumers’ generator interconnection agreement with MISO allows for access for phase two. The company anticipates starting construction on Cross Winds 2 in the spring and starting commercial operation by the end of 2017.
Consumers must apply for transmission capacity for Cross Winds 3, which could take up to two years, pushing planned construction to 2019.
Image: Morgue File
