Consumers Energy has commissioned a 250 MW solar project in western Michigan, built on an active municipal wastewater treatment site, using a dedicated 138 kV grid connection.
Consumers Energy has powered the Muskegon Solar Energy Center, a move that underscores the industry’s shift toward large-scale utility development in unconventional landscapes.
The 250 MW facility, located in Moorland Township, Michigan, is now the largest solar facility in the utility’s fleet and marks a major milestone in the state’s transition to a coal-free capacity mix by 2025.
The project was led by owner-operator Consumers Energy and engineering, procurement and construction firm Burns & McDonnell. To carry out construction, Burns & McDonnell utilized its own union affiliate AZCO to manage construction on site, along with local labor in Michigan.
First Solar supplied more than 550,000 Series 7 bifacial modules and Array Technologies supplied the single-axis horizontal tracking systems. Key components for the system’s electrical balance (EBOS) were supplied by Shoals Technologies Group and CAB Solar, while Siemens Gamesa supplied the high-capacity inverters required to convert the site’s DC generation to the grid.
The project serves as a case study in land use efficiency through ‘stacking’ utility functions. Located on 1,900 acres of the Muskegon County Resource Recovery Center, a functional wastewater treatment footprint, the array proves that solar energy can thrive alongside critical municipal infrastructure.
Rather than competing with prime agricultural land, the project utilizes the treatment center’s existing buffer zones and irrigation fields, providing a stable revenue stream for the county, Moorland Township and the Ravenna School District.
To transport the power to the grid, the Burns & McDonnell team built a dedicated 34.5/138 kV open-air collector station. The facility features a single main current transformer (MPT) that steps generation to a 138 kV dead tank circuit breaker and a single starting structure. A control box houses the site’s relay, security and control systems.
The final connection to the MISO grid is a new 800-meter long 138 kV transmission line, connecting the collector substation to the remote switching station. The project was built with local union labor through AZCO and created more than 200 jobs during construction. The project is expected to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 40,000 Michigan homes.
This content is copyrighted and may not be reused. If you would like to collaborate with us and reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
