KALAMINK WIND PROJECT PROFILE
Apex Clean Energy is exploring the feasibility of constructing Kalamink Wind. Based on transmission capacity and local wind data, Kalamink Wind has the potential to generate up to 300 megawatts of clean, homegrown Michigan energy, enough to power up to 72,000 U.S. homes.
Apex is working with local landowners, community leaders, and various stakeholders to design a project that fits with the community and complements the agricultural heritage of the area.
Rural Ingham County has several key attributes that make the location ideal for wind energy development.
• Verified wind resource (based on National Renewable Energy Laboratory data)
• Expansive private land with interested farmers and landowners
• Existing high-voltage transmission lines
• Minimal environmental impacts
A Community-Based Model for Development
Using an innovative, community-based lease that spreads some of the financial benefits from the project more broadly among signed landowners and residents, Kalamink Wind will generate an entirely new source of long-term revenue for local schools, township governments, and property owners. 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 lease payments over the projected 30+ year lifespan of the wind farm, injecting millions of dollars into the local economy to support local merchants, contractors, equipment suppliers, auto dealers, and others. The power from Kalamink 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 Ingham County
- Capable of producing up to 300 MW of clean, homegrown energy, enough to power 72,000 U.S. homes each year
- Up to 12 full-time local jobs for operations and maintenance
- Taxpayers protected against decommissioning costs
- Farmers would continue farming their land with very limited disturbance
- Over 30 years of annual revenue for local schools, landowners, and county and township government services,
totaling tens of millions of dollars - Existing high-voltage power lines and highways will limit the need for new infrastructure
WIND ENERGY FOR RURAL AMERICA
The cost of wind energy has dropped more than 70% over the past ten 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