SANDS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WLUC) – Upper Peninsula communities that host renewable energy projects are being awarded for ‘thinking green’.

Sands Township is home to a solar farm in the Sands Plains. The project powers 35,000 to 40,000 homes.

Township Supervisor Darlene Walch said supporting these kinds of projects is a natural next step in community development.

“The future of energy has got to have a mix of more traditional energy sources and renewable energy resources because, for example, the sun is not gonna be depleted,” Walch said.

Now, the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is rewarding the township for supporting this project. Sands received $748,500 from EGLE’s Renewables Ready Communities Award.

EGLE Public Information Officer Jeff Johnston says the program encourages communities to host renewable energy sites by offering an incentive. Hosts can receive $5,000 per megawatt (MW) from EGLE for projects ranging from roads to recreational upgrades.

“The owner of the property would like to see these developments, and often in communities, people have concerns about large developments, so we want to get communities involved in these projects and to see that they have a stake in it,” Johnston said.

Walch hopes to further strengthen the community by using the money to enhance the property it already owns. The plan is to create a trail around Sands Township Park to make a safety buffer between the park and the highway.

“Kind of like those walking areas where you can identify what plant this is, what kind of tree it is, and have it near the playground as well,” Walch said.

The office complex will also get an added community room, and Strawberry Lake Park will see improvements, like a pavilion and boat launch.

“These are projects and developments and transformations that we believe that affects the entire state and should involve the entire state,” Johnston said. “We’re all invested in having a prosperous, successful, sustainable clean energy future.”

Walch says the township plans to begin construction next year.

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