OCEANA COUNTY, MI – A longstanding family farm that auctioned off over 900 acres of farmland has sold most of it to Consumers Energy.
The Jackson-based utility won purchase rights to 800 acres in Hart, previously owned by Todd Greiner Farms, in an auction hosted this past weekend, Tracy Wimmer, spokesperson with Consumers Energy, confirmed.
Consumers purchased the land for $5.6 million, Wimmer said. The future use of the land was not disclosed.
“At this point, we’re still determining potential future uses,” Wimmer said. “Once we have more information and details about that and figure what makes sense with the land, that’s when we’ll move forward.”
Todd Greiner Farms Packing last weekend auctioned off over 900 acres of farmland that had been used to grow sweet and tart cherries, apples and vegetables. The auction was part of the 30-year-old farm’s transition to marketing and selling produce from other Michigan growers.
Consumers could use the land for large-scale solar infrastructure, as the utility is building or has plans to build numerous solar farms in Kent, Muskegon, Kalamazoo, Jackson and Calhoun counties.
The utility is constructing a 1,900-acre solar farm at Muskegon County’s wastewater plant in Moorland Township. It is expected to produce 250 megawatts of solar power, enough energy to power about 40,000 homes, when it’s fully operational in 2026.
Consumers has touted a long-term goal of having 8,000 megawatts of solar energy in its sources by 2040.
In 2020, about 11% of the utility’s intake was renewable energy, which includes solar and wind. By 2040, the goal is to have renewables be the primary energy source at 63%.
In addition to the real estate auction, a second auction was held featuring a large lineup of farm equipment, including over 30 tractors and more than 30 trucks and trailers.
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