Clean energy developers had planned a 75-turbine wind farm in mid-Michigan’s Montcalm County before local voters shot down the idea in 2022 and recalled seven local officials who had supported it.
About 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast, Clara Ostrander in Monroe County found herself at the center of a similar conflict as rising medical costs forced her and her husband to consider selling land her family has owned for 150 years.
Leasing a parcel to an incoming solar farm could save the property, but neighboring residents complained so vehemently that Ostrander said the township changed its zoning to block the project.
“There are people in this township I will never, ever speak to again,” she said.
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Michigan and more than a dozen other states are seeking to upend the decision-making process by grabbing the power to supersede local restrictions and allow state authorities to approve or disapprove locations for utility-scale projects.
The shift has sparked a political backlash that may escalate as more states seek to simplify getting green energy projects approved and built.
“We can’t allow projects of statewide importance that are critical to our state energy security to be vetoed on purely local concerns,” said Dan Scripps, chair of Michigan’s Public Service Commission.
The town hall meetings discussing these development projects are complete shit shows. The two most common arguments are that it will kill the birds (not true, at least for solar projects) or that it’s ugly, but a lot of anti-renewable energy misinformation too. Lots of dramatics as well lol. I have a close friend who has to attend these meetings for a living.
And the thing is, coming over the crest of a hill to reveal a sprawling field of wind turbines is a cool thing to see. Almost breathtaking in my opinion.
Coming over the crest to reveal a massive field of pump jacks is, well, let’s just say depressing. They’re all rusty, limited vegetation around or more weeds than anything. If “ugly” is the excuse then pumping oil is the one to avoid.
So you are still at the “dead birds” part of the fairy tale retelling? It will get from shit show to clown show once they move on to try arguing with “science” like the imaginary health issues caused by infrasound.