A Northern Michigan electric cooperative will buy power from a large-scale solar project being developed in Cass County.
Cadillac-based Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Inc., which supplies wholesale power and transmission for seven member-owned cooperatives in Michigan, plans to purchase the power from a 150-megawatt (MW) project being built and operated by Boise, Idaho-based Clēnera.
The Gemstone Solar project would be among the largest solar installations in the state and is set to be operational by the end of 2023.
“Wolverine’s mission is to provide reliable and competitive power to its member-cooperatives,” Wolverine President and CEO Eric Baker said in a statement. “We are proud to build on our 70-year history with significant additional commitments to responsible, sustainable and carbon-free projects like Gemstone Solar.”
Utility officials say Wolverine now provides its members with power that is 60 percent carbon-free. The Gemstone project would add to Wolverine’s current portfolio of 210 MW of wind and solar generation.
The project is set to span roughly 1,000 acres in Cass County, just north of the Indiana border. Clēnera — a subsidiary of Enlight Renewable Energy Ltd. — has developed more than 1,600 MW of solar projects and has another 12,000 MW spread across 50 projects under development.
