DETROIT–DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE), Michigan’s largest producer of and investor in renewable energy, announced that Michigan’s largest wind park, Meridian Wind, is now operational.
Spanning three townships across Midland and Saginaw counties, the 225-megawatt wind park has 77 wind turbines and generates enough clean energy to power more than 78,000 homes.
DTE managed all aspects of the Park’s development, from land acquisition and permitting through construction, and will assume responsibility for the project’s ongoing operations and maintenance. Meridian Wind Park is DTE’s first self-developed renewable energy project since the development of Pinnebog Wind in 2016.
With the commissioning of Meridian Wind Park, DTE now has 20 wind parks in its renewable energy portfolio. These projects, along with the company’s 33 solar parks, generate enough clean energy to power more than 750,000 homes and represent an investment of more than $3 billion.
DTE plans to add approximately 1,000 megawatts of new renewable energy each year starting in 2025, and as part of its CleanVision Integrated Resource Plan filed last fall, the company proposed adding an additional 15,000 megawatts of clean energy by 2042, giving DTE enough clean energy to power more than 4 million homes.
“DTE is committed to aggressively growing its renewable energy portfolio as part of its plan to transition Michigan to cleaner sources of energy,” said Brian Calka, vice president of renewable energy sales and project development for DTE. “We know this is the right thing to do for our customers, our company and our communities. In addition to bringing even more clean energy to the grid and supporting Michigan’s overall decarbonization goals, these projects help strengthen our economy by creating and sustaining jobs and by bringing millions of dollars in additional tax revenue to the communities that host this infrastructure.”
Added JoAnn Crary, president of the economic development agency Saginaw Future: “I want to thank our friends at DTE for their partnership in getting this project completed and operational. We have been involved with this project since the beginning and know that it will be a catalyst for continued economic growth in our area.”
DTE also provides customers with the opportunity to participate in its renewable energy projects through its MIGreenPower voluntary renewable energy program. The program enables customers to attribute even more of their energy use to wind and solar energy beyond the 15% they already receive as part of their energy mix.
MIGreenPower is open to all DTE Electric customers – residential and business – and is among the largest voluntary renewable energy programs in the United States. In 2022, DTE secured MIGreenPower solar energy agreements with both Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis totaling more than 1,000 megawatts, making history as the largest and second largest clean energy purchases through a utility ever in the U.S., respectively.
More about DTE’s clean energy plans at dtecleanenergy.com.
DTE operates an electric company serving 2.3 million customers in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE portfolio includes energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, renewable natural gas, and energy marketing and trading. Through its commitment to cleaner energy, DTE Electric plans to reduce CO2 emissions by 90% and DTE Gas will plan to reduce methane emissions by more than 80% by 2040. DTE Electric and DTE Gas aspire to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.