Since early 2007 DTE Energy has acquired wind development rights on over 80,000 acres of land. The first DTE Energy-owned and constructed wind farms were commissioned (connected to the grid and generating power) in December 2012. Two are located in Huron County, and one in Sanilac County. These three wind farms have the capacity to produce 110 megawatts per hour of renewable power on nearly 15,000 acres. A fourth wind farm, the Echo project, is under development in Huron County. The Echo project will double our capacity to 220 megawatts of wind energy.

View a map* of DTE Energy wind farms in Michigan's Thumb.

Some of our specific activities to support the development of wind in Michigan's Thumb have included: 

• developing relationships with landowners and managing lease activities 
• installing 6 meteorological (MET) towers used to gather data such wind speed, direction, temperature, pressure, and icing conditions
• performing wildlife studies, including migration analyses
• reviewing local zoning and permitting requirements
• serving on advisory panels, including the Great Lakes Wind Collaborative, Utility Wind Integration Group, and the Wind Energy Resource Zone Board
• hiring an owner's engineer to manage the design and construction process
• performing micrositing studies, assessing the geology of the land

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