Breaking news: Lee Township to host the Sunfish Solar 2 project, bringing clean energy and jobs to the Battle Creek metro area.

Consumers Energy along with Hecate Energy announced a vast solar project for Calhoun County.  They are breaking ground in Lee Township.  Lee Township is a tiny community of about 1,000 residents in the Battle Creek metro.

Why are they creating this solar farm? This is expected to strengthen the power grid, create hundreds of new jobs, and supply clean, cost-efficient energy to tens of thousands of homes and businesses annually.

This exciting new project called, "Sunfish Solar 2" is expected to not only bring hundreds of jobs but it will have a massive positive impact on the local economy according to Consumers Energy,

Construction of Sunfish Solar 2 is expected to create more than 350 unionized construction jobs while generating approximately $225 million in direct and secondary economic impact. Bechtel, the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor will endeavor to recruit workers from West-Central Michigan and will support workforce development in the region.
New solar field coming to Calhoun County
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Consumers Energy has a goal of delivering 8,000 megawatts of clean energy by 2040.  This project is a huge step as it will generate 360 megawatts delivering power to an estimated 69,000 homes.

READ MORE: When Will Winter End in Michigan?

The target date for completion of Sunshish Solar 2 is Spring of 2026.

Believe it or not, Michigan has an ideal climate for solar.  You don't have to live in a Southern state to benefit from solar power.  The state of Michigan is one of the fastest-growing states for solar in America according to EnvironmentAmerica.org,

Michigan produced 1,610 GWh of solar energy last year, up from 35 GWh in 2014. This was enough to bring us to 24th place in the national solar rankings.

I got solar on my house last Summer.  The entire process was eye-opening, to say the least.  I absolutely love it.  I spoke to Mike with Nova Terra Energy about some of the misconceptions about solar in Michigan.

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