GHLP Partners with New Solar Project Under Construction in Michigan

Invenergy has completed term and construction financing for the 200MW Calhoun Solar project, which is currently under construction and scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2022. Located in Calhoun County, it will support approximately 300 jobs over the course of the construction period. Invenergy senior vice president Anneli Alers said: “Invenergy is proud to achieve construction financing for the Calhoun Solar project, an important step in bringing our first solar project in Michigan to fruition.”

The Calhoun Solar Project will provide clean, renewable energy to Michiganders who obtain their power supply from a large group of locally owned and controlled municipal electric utilities that aggregate and share power supply through the Michigan Public Power Agency (MPPA). MPPA is a municipal power joint action agency that provides wholesale power supply and related services to publicly owned electric utilities in Michigan. “The Calhoun Solar Project is part of a growing portfolio of renewable resources MPPA has committed to which is transforming our member power supply and moving us toward a decarbonized future,” said MPPA CEO Patrick Bowland.

As a Member of MPPA, the Grand Haven Board of Light & Power and the local community are proud to be involved in the Calhoun Solar project. “Renewables are a vital part of Grand Haven’s energy future,” said David Walters, General Manager. “We are excited to see new projects like Calhoun Solar come to Michigan and look forward to further opportunities to reduce carbon dependency and reach Grand Haven’s sustainability goals as we continue to supply our customers with affordable, reliable, and sustainable power.  Our purchase agreement with MPPA anticipates 5.85 MW of solar capacity from Calhoun Solar and the project is expected to generate approximately 12,000 MWh annually for our use after its commercial operations date, about 3.8% of our system’s energy requirements in 2023.”