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DTE
conducts soil evaluations in area Published: HURON COUNTY — “We’re not putting in any turbines right now,” said Matt
Wagner, standing in a field near the intersection of Maxwell and Filion
roads Wednesday, as the DTE Energy manager of wind site development
explained what the activity many passersby might have noticed in the
area in recent days. The activity is part
of a geotechnical evaluation where subsurface soil conditions will be
evaluated at several locations within Detroit Edison’s wind
development easement area. “We’re doing
this to characterize the subsurface of the soil,” Wagner said. An evaluation of
geotechnical (subsurface) conditions is required at various locations
across the potential wind farm area to prepare for the proper design of
wind turbine foundations and electrical collection systems. The geotechnical
evaluation will be conducted in several locations, and a total of four
soil borings per area will be completed. Each soil boring
will be two inches in diameter and will be completed to a depth of up to
50 feet below the ground surface to characterize the soil column and
collect soil samples. Various laboratory
tests will be completed on the samples collected during soil boring test
pit completion to further characterize soil conditions such as soil
compaction, moisture content, particle size, etc. Wagner said the
tests and samples taken were not a part of any environmental studies. He
stressed they were needed for purposes of wind turbine foundation and
electrical collection system design. Areas where soil
boring has already occurred include locations near the intersections of
Filion and Maxwell roads in Chandler Township and Sturm and Crown roads
in McKinley Township, Wagner said. The evaluation
activity has been planned since early September, and land owners
affected by the geotechnical evaluation were contacted in advance of
field activities, he said. Wagner noted DTE Energy tried to avoid or
minimize impact to tiles, crop areas or other areas of concern. “The land owners
have been great,” Wagner added. “ ... They’ve been very
cooperative.” DTE Energy Spokesman
Len Singer said the company has secured more than 40,000 acres in
easements with local land owners. |