More Solar Panels at M-72, Wind Turbine to Come Down

More solar panels are on the way to the corner of M-72 and Bugai Road in Leelanau County.

In turn, a wind turbine that has sat on the site since 1996 will come down this spring.

Traverse City Light and Powered signed a contract with Heritage Sustainable Energy to put additional acres of solar panels down at the site along M-72.

“We’re entering our third amended and reinstated contract with them,” said Traverse City Light and Power’s Interim Executive Director, Karla Myers-Beman.

A megawatt is the maximum power of a solar panel. During a sunny day at noon, the new solar panels would create a total of five megawatts, which is the equivalent to powering 20,000 light bulbs.

Heritage Sustainable Energy CEO Marty Lagina says that five megawatts is rather significant. However, Lagina admits, “as a state and as a country, we need a hell of a lot more than that.”

Although Lagina believes that the U.S. could do better in terms of renewable energy, Myers-Beman says the additional solar panels will help Traverse City achieve their renewable energy goal. Among committed energy, Myers-Beman states 43.65%  of energy will be renewable energy by 2025.

Traverse City Utility has a goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040.

While more solar panels are on the way, a relic of renewable energy will come down.

The windmill that sits at the site was one of the first wind turbine’s in the country.  It was built in 1996 by Traverse City Light and Power, but then sold in 2014 to Heritage. The turbine still produces energy to this day.

“At the time we sold the turbine we were having mechanical issues with it,” Myers-Beman explained.

But Lagina says this does not mean wind power is not sustainable.

“Both wind and solar have dropped incredibly in cost and they’re both going to be really good sources of energy for the future,” Lagina said.

Lagina explains that the technology on the turbine is “obsolete.” He says that wind turbine in particular has been tough to get parts for.

“Because of how technology has gone, because of the limits of that particular site,” stated Lagina. “We’re going to be able to generate more renewable energy from solar than we could from that wind turbine.”

Most of the turbine will be repurposed.

According to Lagina, replacing the turbine with 14 acres worth of solar panels will increase renewable energy in Traverse City. Additionally, he stated that the wind turbine produced just 60 kilowatts on a continuous bases while the additional solar panels will produce 400 kilowatts.

“It will power a lot of homes right in Traverse City, and right on the Traverse City system. It doesn’t have to go through all those wires to get here. It’s going to come off that area, right into homes in Traverse City,” said Lagina.

With the extra solar panels in Grand Traverse County, it will help keep energy costs down for residents.

“Our customers really shouldn’t see an impact for this contract, because it is priced at the market rate,” said Myers-Beman.

The first two contracts between Traverse City Light and Power and Heritage Sustainable energy carried a premium.

Lagina explains that because technology has evolved and the cost of solar panels has come down Grand Traverse County residents shouldn’t see a change in their bill.

Myers-Beman and Lagina hope the project will generate local economic activity in the area and impact greenhouse gas emissions.

Using an EPA calculator, it will eliminate 41 million funds of coal burned.

“I guess as a resident, we’re all looking towards renewable energy to help eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. Which impacts our environment that we live in everyday,” said Myers-Beman.