CARO — Baseball, robins and golf. Now you can add another sign of spring to the Michigan calendar — seeing trucks carrying wind turbine parts.
Jackson-based Consumers Energy announced Monday that construction has resumed on its Cross Winds Energy Park in Tuscola County in Michigan’s thumb.
Residents of Tuscola County’s Akron and Columbia townships are receiving a “safety alert” postcard from Consumers Energy, urging them to be alert for construction traffic in their areas.
Following agreements with the Tuscola County Road Commission, the project includes necessary maintenance, repair and upgrades to several area roads needed for transporting wind turbine components and other construction related materials.
Said Cross Winds project manager John Bulloch: “Safety is our No. 1 priority. A key part of our commitment to safety is openly communicating about construction activity that residents may encounter.”
Barton Malow of Southfield is the lead contractor for Cross Winds. This spring, the work will focus on construction of access drives, turbine foundations and electrical systems. Those massive blades and other wind turbine components are scheduled to arrive at the Cross Winds site by mid-summer.
About 150 construction jobs will be created during Cross Winds construction. The project will eventually see the building of 62 wind turbines capable of generating 105 megawatts of electricty. Generation is scheduled to begin late this year.
A map of Cross Winds Energy Park is available at this link.
Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest utility, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and electricity to 6.5 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.