Traverse City Light & Power (TCLP) board members approved an amended contract with Heritage Sustainable Energy at their recent board meeting that will see Heritage's M-72 solar array expanded by two megawatts and the wind turbine on the property decommissioned this year. The move will push TCLP nearly one percent closer to its goal of being 100 percent powered by renewable energy by 2040. TCLP board members also approved a contract with Brandie Ekren – the current executive director of strategic planning and development for the Lansing Board of Water & Light – to start as the utility’s new executive director effective March 21.

Solar Expansion
Developer Marty Lagina of Heritage Sustainable Energy will expand his solar array near M-72 and Gray Road this year after TCLP board members agreed to purchase the two megawatts of power produced by the project. Heritage and TLCP will also share costs to upgrade a line leading from the array to the corner of M-72 and M-22 to handle the increased capacity, a project TCLP staff said will help the utility better serve growing residential developments like Morgan Farms and 44 North along the corridor.

TCLP and Heritage negotiated back and forth in recent months over contract terms before agreeing that TCLP will buy the power produced by the solar expansion at a price known as a locational marginal pricing (LMP) real-time hourly rate, which staff estimated would work out to $46 per megawatt hour over the contract life. The expanded solar array is expected to be built and operational by this fall or winter, according to project documents. Staff said the deal marks the last expansion option between Heritage and TCLP for the property, as Heritage will now be built out for renewable energy at the corner.

According to a memo from TCLP Interim Executive Director and Controller Karla Myers-Beman, the additional energy produced by the project will nudge TCLP nearly one percent closer to its goal of being 100 percent powered by renewable energy by 2040. The utility is on track to meet that goal, according to TCLP’s 2020-21 annual report, which stated at the time of the publication that TCLP would achieve 43.65 percent renewable generation by 2025 with the energy commitments it had in place.

“Additionally, by constructing and generating this energy locally, the region will benefit from other quantifiable and non-quantifiable benefits including generating local economic activity and tax revenue for the region along with environmental and health benefits,” Myers-Beman wrote. “In addition, it will provide sustainability to the local distribution system and reduce over the contract terms 34,728 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which can equate to eliminating 41,368,944 pounds of coal burned.”

To accommodate the solar expansion, Heritage and TCLP will split costs to reconductor – or increase the capacity – of a transmission line running from the array to the M-72/M-22 intersection. The estimated cost of that project is $190,000, with Heritage covering $146,300 and TCLP covering $43,700. Staff noted the utility’s participation was justified because the line is expected to see significant customer load growth in the future with anticipated residential development along the corridor.

As part of the solar project, Heritage plans to decommission the iconic wind turbine on the M-72 property this spring. Current and former TCLP board members and staff will be invited to participate and receive a keepsake from the turbine, which Heritage purchased from the utility in 2014. TCLP was the first Michigan municipal electric utility to install a utility scale wind turbine when it was built in 1996. At the time of construction, with a blade diameter of 144 feet on a 160-foot tower, it was the largest operating wind turbine in the country. Heritage plans to retain a piece of the turbine on the property “with a plaque telling the story of the wind turbine including TCLP’s involvement and comparing it to modern day technology,” according to Myers-Beman.

Executive Director Contract
After a nationwide search and a unanimous board vote to offer Lansing Board of Water & Light Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Development Brandie Ekren the position of next TCLP executive director, board members agreed at their recent meeting to contract terms with Ekren, paving the way for her to start in her new role on March 21.

Under the agreement, Ekren will earn a starting salary of $199,725 annually plus benefits, including $10,000 for relocation expenses and up to six months of temporary rental/lodging accommodations not to exceed $2,500 per month. “TCLP is moving forward with many initiatives, especially those that can help reduce the impacts of climate change,” TCLP Board Chair Paul Heiberger said in a statement. “Ms. Ekren’s experience with strategic planning, renewable portfolios, and strategic and innovative initiatives including clean energy program development, revenue diversification, and microgrids will be a tremendous asset as the utility moves into the future. My fellow board members and I welcome Brandie as TCLP’s new executive director.”

Ekren said in a statement that “the vote of confidence from both the TCLP board and staff is a tremendous honor and a humbling moment for me personally,” adding: “My dedication to our success as one of the most progressive electric utilities is powered by my passion for our industry and its potential. We will positively impact the industry together.”