More than 15,000 acres in Huron and Sanilac Counties will soon be home to DTE Energy's first three wind farms, the company announced Wednesday.
In an effort to expand the company's renewable energy resources, DTE announced the wind farms would be built in five Thumb-area townships, including Bloomfield, Sigel and McKinley townships in Huron County and Minden and Delaware townships in Sanilac County.
DTE said the three wind farms, which total an investment of $225 million, will produce about 110 megawatts of electricity annually.
The company announced it has acquired easements on 80,000 acres in Huron County, as well as completed wind and wildlife studies at the three wind farm sites. The company said it is reviewing bids from turbine manufacturers, as it expects to use about 50 wind turbines to generate the power at the wind farms.
John Deere Renewables currently has two wind farms in the Thumb area, with 48 turbines near Ubly and 32 turbines near Elkton. Consumers Energy purchases the power generated by those wind farms.