MONTCALM WIND PROJECT PROFILE

Apex Clean Energy is exploring the feasibility of constructing Montcalm Wind, a wind energy project expected to generate up to 375 megawatts of clean, homegrown energy. Local wind data confirms that the area under consideration is ideal for a project of this size, which will produce enough safe, pollution free energy to power up to 90,000 U.S. homes. Apex is working with local landowners, community leaders, and various stakeholders on the project and welcomes input into the planning process. Located in Montcalm County, the project site has these key attributes:

• Verified wind resource
• Expansive private land
• Existing high-voltage transmission lines
• Minimal environmental impacts

The power from Montcalm Wind will be delivered directly onto Michigan’s electrical grid, reducing the need to import energy from outside markets.

PROJECT SUMMARY and Economic Benefits

• Planned to be located on open farmland in rural Montcalm County
• Capable of producing up to 375 MW of clean, homegrown energy, enough to power up to 90,000 U.S. homes each year
• Expected to consist of up to 75 wind turbines, spaced approximately 1/4 to 1/2 mile apart on active farmland 
• Each wind turbine, including the access road, typically requires less than half an acre of land
• Farmers would continue farming their land with very limited disturbance
• Taxpayers protected against decommissioning costs
• Tens of millions of dollars to be paid out locally during the life of the project for the county, local landowners,
  local schools, and other entities
• Hundreds of jobs and significant local spending during construction
• Will create up to 15 full-time local jobs for operations and maintenance

A COMMUNITY-BASED MODEL FOR DEVELOPMENT

Montcalm Wind uses an innovative, community-based lease that spreads some of the financial benefits from the project more broadly among signed landowners and residents. Through this community-centered approach Montcalm Wind will generate an entirely new source of long-term revenue for not only local governments and schools, but also residents and property owners, injecting millions of dollars into the local economy to support local businesses and family budgets.

The total direct financial impact to the community will be in the tens of millions of dollars over the life of the project, with additional indirect economic benefits to the local economy through construction and operations. Landowners and community members participating in the project will receive annual payments over the projected 30+ year lifespan of the wind farm. 

WIND ENERGY FOR RURAL AMERICA

The cost of wind energy has dropped more than 50% over the past five years, providing a cost-competitive source for clean electricity across the nation. Wind powers the equivalent of 25 million American homes each year.* Wind energy comes with many benefits, including reduced pollution, increased domestic employment, consumer cost savings, water conservation, nationwide availability, and increased community revenues.** Wind turbines compliment working farms, because they allow for existing agricultural operations to continue around them. They also help farmers by diversifying the rural economy and providing a consistent, drought-resistant new harvest.

*AWEA, Wind Energy Facts at a Glance, 2019
**Department of Energy, Wind Vision: A New Era for Wind Power in the United States, 2015