Consumers Energy to build 85MW solar plant on retired coal sites in Michigan

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Consumers Energy plans to generate half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2040. Image: Consumers Energy

Michigan utility Consumers Energy will build an 85MW solar plant at the former site of two coal-fired power plants in Michigan, which it closed in June this year.

The two plants, known as Karn 1 and Karn 2, each had a power capacity of 258MW, and had been in operation since 1959. While Consumers Energy has not yet announced the technical specification of the new project, including module manufacturers or grid connection plans, the utility did note that it aims to commission the new solar project by 2026.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

“Consumers Energy put years of thoughtful work into closing the Karn facilities, and chief among those considerations was how we wanted the site to operate and function after the closure,” said David Hicks, Consumers Energy’s vice president of clean energy development.

“Based on future use studies and input from local stakeholders, solar emerged as the best option to ensure we continue to be good stewards of the land and to provide valuable tax dollars for the community while still pushing us further toward our sustainability goals.”

The closure and replacement of the Karn plants with solar projects is part of Consumers Energy’s plans to decarbonise its operations, with the utility aiming to retire all of its coal-fired power plants by 2025. While this does not mean the utility will rely entirely on renewable power – the Karn 3 and 4 plants will use natural gas and oil until 2031 – the construction of a solar project will be an important part of the utility’s plans to generate half of its electric capacity with renewables by 2040.

The construction of solar facilities in areas historically reliant on coal power is of particular financial benefit for developers, with the US Inflation Reduction Act offering a 10% bonus on investment tax credits and production tax credits for such solar projects. Opportunities such as these have helped encourage a new wave of solar developments at former coal sites, and could form a key part of the US’ energy transition.

The news also follows the release of figures from the US Energy Information Administration this week, which reveal that the cost of constructing a new solar plant in the US fell 6% between 2020 and 2021, as new solar projects become more financially viable for developers.

7 October 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
PV Tech has been running an annual PV CellTech Conference since 2016. PV CellTech USA, on 7-8 October 2025 is our third PV CellTech conference dedicated to the U.S. manufacturing sector. The events in 2023 and 2024 were a sell out success and 2025 will once again gather the key stakeholders from PV manufacturing, equipment/materials, policy-making and strategy, capital equipment investment and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out PV manufacturing in the U.S. out to 2030 and beyond.
21 October 2025
New York, USA
Returning for its 12th edition, Solar and Storage Finance USA Summit remains the annual event where decision-makers at the forefront of solar and storage projects across the United States and capital converge. Featuring the most active solar and storage transactors, join us for a packed two-days of deal-making, learning and networking.
16 June 2026
Napa, USA
PV Tech has been running PV ModuleTech Conferences since 2017. PV ModuleTech USA, on 16-17 June 2026, will be our fifth PV ModulelTech conference dedicated to the U.S. utility scale solar sector. The event will gather the key stakeholders from solar developers, solar asset owners and investors, PV manufacturing, policy-making and and all interested downstream channels and third-party entities. The goal is simple: to map out the PV module supply channels to the U.S. out to 2027 and beyond.

Read Next

Premium
June 27, 2025
PV Talk: '2024 was a transformational year in terms of energy policy,' says Monika Paplaczyk ahead of this year's Clean Power 2030 Summits.
June 26, 2025
A round-up of news from the US solar sector this week, including Akuo, Meta and RWE.
June 26, 2025
A group of minority shareholders in Norwegian silicon firm REC Silicon has triggered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the closure of the company’s US polysilicon production site.
June 26, 2025
Adapture Renewables and Meta have signed two EAPAs that will see the latter acquire power from a 360MW Texas solar portfolio.
June 25, 2025
First Solar has sold US$311.8 million in tax credits to “a leading financial institution” under the rules set out in the IRA.
June 25, 2025
Spanish energy utility giant Iberdrola has appointed the former CEO of its US renewable energy development subsidiary, Avangrid, as its new head.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico