Consumers Energy to start work early on 76-MW Michigan wind park

US utility Consumers Energy will start the construction of the 76-MW Cross Winds III wind farm in Michigan three years earlier than planned.

The company, part of CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS), has received approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to speed up the project and start work in 2019 instead of 2022, the regulator said on Thursday. “The advancement of these wind energy projects will help to meet the expanded renewable energy portfolio standard set in the state’s new energy laws,” MPSC’s chairman Sally Talberg said.

The Cross Winds III park in Tuscola County will be an extension of the 111-MW Cross Winds I plant, which has been generating power since 2014. A second phase of the project, with a capacity of 44 MW, received the go-ahead by the MPSC in 2016 and is expected to begin commercial operations at the start of 2018.

For the Cross Winds III plant, Consumers Energy will install 33 General Electric (NYSE:GE) turbines with a combined capacity of 76 MW. Completion is expected in 2020, according to the project's website.

The state of Michigan has set a target for a 15% renewables share by 2021.

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