Garden Wind Farm

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Heritage Garden Wind Farm: New Energy in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

The Garden Wind  Farm in Garden Township of Delta County, Michigan, is the first wind energy generating facility in the Upper Peninsula. It consists of 14 – 2 megawatt wind turbines rfor a total installed generation   capacity of  28  megawatts (MW). The wind farm became fully operational in September of 2012.  Over an annual period, the wind farm is anticipated to generate in excess of 70,000 megawatt hours of renewable, clean electricity.  This is equivalent to the amount of energy needed to power nearly 7,000 average households (almost 50% of Delta County’s households).

Garden Wind Farm fact sheet

Heritage is making significant long term investments in Delta County and the Upper Peninsula. The increased spending, local contracts, and jobs benefit a broad spectrum of businesses and residents.

• 5-6 full-time permanent jobs for maintenance and operation technicians stationed in Garden.

• Tax revenue from the wind farm may help improve and maintain services to all residents of the County and the region.

• Contracts with a variety of local businesses for regular maintenance and operation related needs.

• Royalty revenues paid to leased landowners within the wind farm unit are estimated to be between $250,000 and $400,000 annually, depending on wind speeds and energy generation. Many of these dollars, in turn, cycle through the local economy.

• Over $ 10 million was injected to the local economy during construction.

• Over 40 local and regional businesses in the Upper Peninsula were utilized for site work, equipment rental, supplies, fuel, maintenance, fencing, materials, food and lodging in the construction phase.

• Over 75 local jobs were generated for the construction of the wind farm.

• The Heritage Garden Wind Farm is stimulating valuable community services. Tax payments from the wind farm could result in stabilized or even lower property taxes, stronger schools, along with enhanced fire, rescue, police and other community services.

• Under the current industrial personal property tax       assessment formula, the Garden Wind Farm will generate in excess of $ 4.5 million in tax revenue over the next 20 years.

• Heritage believes it is also important to support the community in other ways through donations of cash, goods and/or services to community organizations and local units of government.

In average, the Garden Wind Farm generates enough electricity in a year to power approximately 7,000 average homes.