US-based public utility company Consumers Energy has announced the start of Phase III operations at Cross Winds Energy Park in Tuscola County, Illinois.
The Cross Winds Energy Park was built in three phases, which comprises 114 total wind turbines with a combined capacity of 231MW.
The power generated by the facility will be enough to serve approximately 90,000 residents and is equivalent to taking over 179,000 cars off roads.
The $150m third and final phase of the project comprises 33 GE wind turbines with a combined capacity of 76MW, which is enough to serve about 30,000 residents.
Consumers Energy enterprise project management, engineering and services vice president Dennis Dobbs said: “Each spinning wind turbine producing sustainable, renewable energy breathes life into our Clean Energy Plan, a commitment we’ve made to our Michigan friends and neighbors to eliminate coal, cut harmful emissions and help greatly improve the quality of our state’s water and air.”
The Phase I commenced operations in December 2014
The Phase I with a production capacity of 111MW commenced operations in December 2014, while the Phase II, comprising 19 wind turbines with a production capacity of 44MW, began in January 2018.
As a part of Clean Energy Plan (CEP), Consumers Energy announced its plan in June this year to close almost all of its coal-fired power plants by 2040.
With the CEP, Consumers Energy aims to eliminate coal, reduce carbon emissions by more than 90% and meet customer’s future electricity demand with 90% clean energy resources by 2040.
As part of the plan, the company aimed to close two coal-fired generating units at the Karn generating facility near Bay City in 2023. Between 2031 and 2040, three Campbell generating units near Holland are planned to be shut down.
The plan not only includes closure of coal plants, but also compensating them with clean energy resources such as renewable energy, energy waste reduction and energy storage. It also includes the addition of 5GW of solar energy through competitive bidding even earlier by 2030.
