DETROIT, March 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- DTE Energy
today announced that its Pine River wind park, located in
Gratiot and Isabella counties, is operational, providing
enough clean energy to power more than 54,000 homes. With 65
turbines, Pine River is the largest operating wind park in
Michigan as well as DTE's most
cost-effective and cost-efficient wind project to date.
The park will offset nearly 300,000 metric tons of
CO2 annually – the greenhouse gas equivalent of taking
more than 63,000 cars off the road for a year* – and represents a
significant step toward the company's goals of reducing carbon
emissions by more than 80 percent by 2050 and reaching 50 percent
clean energy through renewables and energy efficiency by
2030.
"DTE was among the first energy companies in the nation to
announce a broad sustainability initiative consistent with what
scientists say is necessary to address climate change globally and
do it in a way that maintains affordability and reliability for our
customers," said Gerry Anderson,
chairman and CEO, DTE Energy.
"Bringing Pine River online is helping us meet the commitment we've
made to our customers while contributing to the health of
Michigan's economy. It is our next
step in continuing the fundamental transformation of the way we
generate power in Michigan, while
maintaining our focus on reliability and affordability."
Since 2009, DTE has driven investments of more than $2.8 billion in renewable energy, and the company
will invest an additional $2 billion
in renewables over the next five years as it more than doubles its
capacity in wind and solar. By 2022, DTE will generate enough
energy from renewable resources to power more than 800,000
homes.
DTE wind projects provide more than clean energy for DTE
customers – they also provide a stable source of income for
landowners who have turbines on their property, jobs that help
young people stay in the community, and tax revenue that can be
used to support improvements in roads, schools, emergency services
and other vital community needs. Greater Gratiot Development, Inc.
reports that between 2012-2016, the county received more than
$30 million in tax revenue from its
wind parks.
Pine River Township Supervisor Kevin
Beeson not only appreciates the economic benefits the new
wind park is bringing to his community, he also recognizes the
project's environmental benefits as a gift to future generations.
"It's a clean way to make energy, and that's a nice legacy to leave
behind," he said.
DTE will bring online more than 1,000 additional megawatts of
wind and solar by 2022. DTE's renewable energy portfolio includes
14 wind parks and 31 solar arrays, all located in Michigan. To learn more about DTE's long-term
carbon reduction goal, please visit Journeyto80.com.
Invenergy developed and constructed the project for DTE.
The project supported 250 jobs during construction drawing from 22
different Michigan companies.
About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is
a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the
development and management of energy-related businesses and
services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric
company serving 2.2 million customers in Southeastern
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, natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage, and
energy marketing and trading. As an environmental leader, DTE will
reduce carbon dioxide and methane emissions by more than 80 percent
by 2050 to produce cleaner energy while keeping it safe,
reliable and affordable. DTE is committed to being a force for
good in the communities where it serves through volunteerism,
education and employment initiatives, philanthropy and
economic progress. Information about DTE is available at
dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com,
twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com.
*Avoided emissions and equivalencies are based on Egrid 2017
non-baseload emissions factors by subregion and the Environmental
Protection Agency equivalencies calculator at
http://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator.
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SOURCE DTE Energy