ISABELLA CO., Mich. (WNEM) – DTE Energy is preparing to significantly expand its renewable energy footprint in central Michigan.

The energy company is building a solar farm in Isabella County that will power tens of thousands of homes there and in neighboring counties. The solar farm is expected to generate 158 megawatts of green electricity, but officials say it will also benefit the community’s bottom line.

“This particular project will be approximately three times the size of our current largest active project,” said Joe Masullam, DTE’s vice president of renewable energy.

DTE is moving forward with its latest renewable energy project. On Wednesday, September 25, the company broke ground in Mt. Pleasant at Mission Road Park, where it will install 350,000 solar panels, enough to power nearly 40,000 homes.

Masullam said the farm will help boost various parts of the region’s economy and improve tax revenues for local communities and farmers alike.

“For many of these farmers, this is a way to keep the land in their families when their next generation may not want to farm or may be ready to hang up their boots for a while,” he said.

“This is economic development in the classic sense. There are also 300 construction jobs that will be permanent upon completion of the project, said James McBryde, president of Middle Michigan Economic Development.

DTE will utilize approximately 1,000 acres in Mission Road Park and plans to have the solar farm fully operational next year.

The company has recently started working with people in Isabella County.

“In this particular area we have had really strong support from the farmers and the landowners in the community and we have had a lot of support from the local government. And in most cases, that’s the difference,” Masullam said.

McBryde can confirm this. The organization covers four counties and has worked with DTE in the past.

He said DTE’s approximately 176 wind turbines in Isabella County generate more than 200 megawatts of clean energy – and money.

“This brings over a million dollars in revenue to the county, which is huge for them,” McBryde said.

“I am very pleased that the tax revenues and benefits will go to farmers and the people with whom we have been close and friends in recent months,” Masullam said.

This is just one of six solar panel projects for DTE.

Overall, the projects are expected to produce enough clean energy to power more than 200,000 homes.

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