PINE RIVER TWP, MI – The Pine River wind park located in Gratiot County and Isabella County is DTE Energy’s most cost-effective and most efficient wind park, as well as the state’s largest.

According to a news release, the 65-turbine farm will power 54,000 homes in Michigan — roughly 161 megawatts — many of which will likely be the surrounding area. It will also offset nearly 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning power plants and represents a step forward toward the company’s goal of reducing emissions by more than 80 percent by 2050.

The project spans 40,000 acres of land and encompasses the towns of St. Louis, Alma and Shepard.

Cynthia Hecht, senior communications specialist at DTE Energy, said the project also expects to create eight to 10 full-time jobs, as well as more jobs for blade inspection and repair or component repairs on an as-needed basis.

Hecht noted that it is not the largest wind park in terms of number of turbines -- that title belongs to the company’s Echo Park in Huron County.

But its 161 megawatts makes it the largest energy-producer.

Pine River Township Supervisor Kevin Beeson said in a news release that he appreciates the economic benefits of the new wind park to the community but also the forward-looking approach of the company’s environmental mission.

“The process, probably in reality, is a 10-year process,” Beeson said. “Ten years ago, Gratiot County townships and cities and villages all went together and created a zoning ordinance that pretty much unified the way we look at wind.”

He added without that ordinance, none of this development would have happened.

Hecht also added that the project will also include money for the eventual decommission of the turbines in the park.

Several township and cities across mid-Michigan are grappling with wind parks coming into their communities and some have vehemently opposed them but that was not the case for Pine River, which will roughly have 27 of the 65 wind turbines in the park.

“Well, I can honestly say that in Pine River, we didn’t face that opposition, we had residents sign on with the wind company,” Beeson said, adding they had several public hearings where residents came out to learn more. “They (residents) spoke and had questions, their questions were answered, that was it, it really was a nonevent.”

Beeson said the township sat down with their lawyer and DTE Energy’s lawyer to learn the cost of decommissioning a wind turbine, roughly $175,000.

The project is also included in DTE Energy’s investment of more than $2.8 billion in renewable energy and will invest a further $2 billion over the next five years.

While the project is the largest operating right now, it will only be so for about a year because DTE Energy plans to have another wind farm in the area being built by Polaris Wind Energy that expects to open in March 2020.