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.
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The fuck, these assholes were like, “Not even in your backyard.” Fuck em.
I cannot comprehend people who think wind farms are an eyesore. I find them to be absolutely beautiful.
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I can understand in some places, like mountain areas that rely on tourism. But in most places I also find them beautiful.
Would you even put up a wind farm in mountainous terrain? I expect the increased cost of installation and maintenance in rugged terrain would have a serious impact on the ROI.
Where that wind farm was going was nothing but farmland it’s hardly anybody nearby. The same people who proclaim they should be free from “the tryanny of the government” use the government as a weapon against others.
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Here’s a Podcasting Index link to the episode which supports the podcasting 2.0 standard and is open source.
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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.
Meanwhile in my garbage conservative state, the state is blocking local governments from approving green projects.
Posting to call out the title. It can easily be read to mean the opposite of what it means.
