Consumers Energy Hires Michigan Company For New Wind Park
JACKSON (WWJ) -- Consumers Energy says it has signed a contract with Southfield-based Barton Malow Co. for engineering, procurement and construction services at its $255 million Cross Winds Energy Park, a 105-megawatt wind farm in Tuscola County. The contract is subject to approval by the Michigan Public Service Commission.
"Hiring a well-respected Michigan company to help us generate more clean energy for customers makes sense for our company and for the state," said Jim Pomaranski, Consumers Energy's vice president of major projects and construction. "The Pure Michigan Business Connect initiative is providing quality products and services at competitive prices. In turn, that spending is funding real projects, creating real jobs and making a real difference for Michigan."
About 150 construction jobs are expected to be created when Cross Winds begins construction later this year and into 2014 in Tuscola County's Akron and Columbia townships. The contract includes designing, engineering and constructing the park's turbine foundations, access roads, an operations and maintenance building; erecting the park's 62 wind turbines; and building the infrastructure that connects the turbines to the electrical grid. Barton Malow has previous experience building wind farms in Michigan. An independent economic study estimated that construction of Cross Winds will generate direct and indirect output in Michigan valued at $160.2 million.
Cross Winds is the company's second wind farm. The Lake Winds Energy Park began operating near Ludington in November 2012. About 8 percent of the power Consumers Energy supplies to customers is generated by Michigan-based renewables. Completion of Cross Winds by late 2014 will help the company meet Michigan's renewable energy standard, which requires 10 percent of the state's energy supply to come from renewable sources by 2015.
Consumers Energy recently pledged to increase spending with Michigan-based suppliers of goods and services by $1 billion over five years through the Pure Michigan Business Connect initiative.
Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest utility, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and electricity to 6.6 million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
More at www.consumersenergy.com.
