Crescent Wind Farm fuels push for greener Michigan

By Donté Smith

Capital News Service

In the rolling farmland of southern Michigan’s Hillsdale County, the Crescent Wind Farm towers over the landscape, generating renewable energy while stirring both hope and contention among residents. The wind farm, operated by Consumers Energy in Adams, Moscow and Wheatland townships, is part of the state’s growing push to meet aggressive clean energy targets. Yet the path from concept to completion was far from smooth. Crescent, with 60 wind turbines and a capacity of 166 megawatts, has been supplying electricity to homes since it started running in early 2021. That’s enough to power about 75,000 homes.

Electronics contain critical minerals such as copper, nickel, gold, lithium and cobalt needed to make batteries for electric vehicles and to electrify Michigan’s energy grid. Image: Gabrielle Nelson

The electric energy future could be wasting away in a junk drawer

By Gabrielle Nelson

Lily Wilkin has four old phones tucked away in her closet — and no plans to recycle them. “I keep them for nostalgia,” she said. Wilkin works at Best Buy, the nation’s largest retail collector of electronic waste — from CRT TVs to hard drives to fans. Wilkin said at least two customers drop off electronics for recycling every day at the East Lansing Best Buy. Even though she knows about the e-waste collection program, she’s choosing to keep her old electronics.