REPUBLIC, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Upper Peninsula Power Company has announced plans to build a large array of solar panels in Republic Township. The solar project will be built on the tailings field of the Republic mine land that is of little use to developers, it will use the adjacent Perch Lake Substation in Republic Township, further reducing costs.
“So we’re really excited about the opportunity to continue the legacy of the mining history here in the UP and repurpose this property into a solar facility to help generate localized power that will service our entire service territory,” explained Freeborn.
Dan Freeborn, Communications Manager with UPPCO, says using repurposed land is not only good for business, but good for the environment.
“The tailings area that we have access to to build this facility is about 400 acres, so it will be a big project, but again, we’ll reiterate the benefit of building here. It’s unusable land, so we don’t expect any kind of deforestation. We’re keeping the up the way that everybody loves to have it,” said Freeborn.
UPPCO says the 62.5-megawatt facility will deliver reliable energy and cause no disturbance to the surrounding ecosystem. It’s very
“It’s very much in the vein of how we’re working. We want to make sure that we’re being good stewards of the resources that we have, whether it be you know, environmental, the communities that we serve, financially, and things like that,” stated Freeborn.
