A youth residential treatment center near Albion could provide land for a multi-million dollar solar and wind farm that would help meet a state mandate for renewable energy while providing internship opportunities for the center's youth.
Starr Commonwealth, a nonprofit working in partnership with Patriot Solar Group LLC, also near Albion, and six other renewable energy companies, bid to install a solar and wind farm capable of generating 200 megawatts of power for Detroit Edison Co.
The proposed solar and wind farm would create enough renewable electric energy to power more than 28,500 southeast Michigan homes and reduce carbon emissions at a rate of 283,000 tons annually.
Should it win the full 200 megawatt contract, it would become the largest combined wind and solar farm in the United States on about 2,500 acres of farmland owned by Starr Commonwealth, Patriot Solar Group President Jeff Mathie said.
It would be far from residential areas where the noise of the wind turbines could create problems, and land beneath the turbines could still be farmed, he said.
Starr Commonwealth is expected to provide the land in exchange for a cut of the profits and an opportunity for its youth to learn about renewable energies.
The Sheridan Township nonprofit owns several thousand acres of land in the Albion area that could be sold or leased, Starr Commonwealth spokeswoman Dana Jacob said.
One of Starr Commonwealth's programs is to help youth find employment through vocational education and internships, so providing hands-on experience in renewable energies would fit its mission, she said. It also would be benefit Calhoun County, she said.
"From our perspective, we're excited about the opportunity to see jobs created," Jacob said.
The bidding group, led by Next Generation Power Michigan LLC, would invest $650 million to $700 million in the project, sustaining and creating about 500 jobs in the Albion area alone.
Patriot Solar Group, which is acting as the bidding group's general contractor, would supply solar panel mounting equipment and sun-tracking software for the project.
Mathie estimated his company would make and install racks for 550,000 to 600,000 solar panels with this bid, creating about 100 new manufacturing jobs in the process.
That's in addition to the nearly 200 jobs Patriot Solar Group said in February it would develop within the next five years on other solar panel-related projects after it moves to a larger facility in Sheridan Township.
DTE Energy, the parent company to Detroit Edison, wants to create 245 megawatts of renewable energy throughout its Southeast Michigan service area.
The electricity produced will help DTE Energy achieve Michigan's Renewable Portfolio Standard, which calls for 10 percent of a utility's retail electric sales to come from renewable sources by 2015. The company already has contracts to generate nearly 4 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.
Bids on the 245 megawatt project were due Feb. 17 and DTE Energy is expected to select winners by June.
Mathie said he believes Next Generation Power Michigan has a fighting chance.
