By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
Concerned about the potential loss of prime farmland that would result from development of the proposed Silver Maple solar project, Zeeland Township planners are considering placing a total 500-acre limit on all renewable energy projects that may be built in the township.
If such a limit is adopted, that may force RWE Clean Energy, the developer of the Silver Maple project, to bypass the township and pursue approval for the project through the Michigan Public Service Commission.
RWE has been hosting a series of meetings this week to outline its site plan for Silver Maple and gather public input on the project. Hundreds turned out for public meetings Tuesday at Evergreen Ministries in Jamestown Township and Wednesday at the Zeeland Township Hall. A third and final meeting will take place at 6 p.m. tonight at the Zeeland Township Hall.
The Township Planning Commission on March 10 poured over an updated draft version of a “workable incompatible ordinance” that is stricter than Public Act 233, the current state law regulating renewable energy projects, but not so strict that a developer may forgo seeking township support and instead seek approval through the MPSC. The ordinance would address solar, wind and battery storage projects.
The proposed $300 million Silver Maple project is planned to cover 52 parcels of land totaling 1,914 acres in Zeeland and Jamestown townships. It will consist of solar panels and inverters arranged in photovoltaic arrays, along with associated facilities and infrastructure. All of the parcels slated for the project are zoned either agricultural or agricultural rural residential, according to project documents.
To help her fellow commissioners get a grasp of the magnitude of Silver Maple, new Planning Commissioner Linda Walker, a licensed pilot, recently flew over a similar-size project in Muskegon County that Consumers Energy built. The 250-megawatt Muskegon Solar Energy Center went online earlier this year. The 1,900-acre project was built on the site of the county’s resource recovery center, which includes its wastewater treatment plant.
“Muskegon County did make them put it on brownfield. They had brownfield available, which is good. It’s not taking up prime farmland,” Walker said.
Walker showed a series of photos and videos taken from her plane covering the scope of the Muskegon Solar Energy Center, raising several concerns about the potential impact of Silver Maple on the township. She said that even on a hazy day, she noticed glare reflecting up from the panels, which she says could present a problem for pilots approaching Ottawa Executive Airport if the project is built.
“Right now, the farmland just east of Ottawa Executive Airport, those panels are literally going to be right under us … when we’re (flying) our pattern,” Walker said.
An exact amount of how much of the Silver Maple project is in Zeeland Township has never been announced, although Township Manager Josh Eggleston says it mostly likely is in the neighborhood of 1,100-1,200 acres. Attorney David Eberle, who crafted the draft ordinance, said the township can place a 500-acre limit on renewable energy projects, but there are implications to that decision.
“We can keep this requirement, just understand that it’s inherently making this a nonworkable incompatible ordinance,” Eberle said. “That is a valid policy decision. It just (isn’t) providing an incentive to anyone to permit locally.”
“If you put the 500 (acre limit) in here, you are guaranteeing that they will go to the MPSC,” Eberle added.
Walker made her case for the township to stand its ground, saying forcing RWE to go to the state would result in a longer time period for the company to get the project approved.
“Either we fight … we try to protect our farmland, or we give it to them, or they have to fight for it,” she said. “If we give it to them, they take 1,900 acres. If they go to Lansing and get it, it’s still 1,900 acres. Either way, it’s the same outcome, but one is delayed.”
Scott Beute, the Township Board’s liaison to the Planning Commission, says he’s willing to take his chances with a 500-acre limit.
“I think we understand that there’s some risk in making it incompatible or unworkable, but I think we’ve talked about that quite a bit the last (meeting). I think we understand the pros and cons of that,” Beute said.
While a limit of 500 acres may be too much for RWE, some residents don’t believe such a limit goes far enough.
“What we’ve seen happen (with Silver Maple) over the last couple of months, we’ve watched this thing … it started at 900 acres, then 13 (hundred), then it dropped down to 1,200, and now it’s up to almost 1,900,” resident Dan Kerkstra said. “If you don’t put a hard limit on that, in two more months it could be 2,700 or 3,700 acres and we might not have a township left.”
Kerkstra supported putting a total 400-acre cap on all renewable energy projects in the township.
Eberle will continue to work on the draft ordinance and present an update to commissioners when they meet again on Tuesday, April 14. Commissioners could vote then to set a public hearing on the ordinance, after which the Planning Commission could vote on whether to recommend passage of the ordinance to the Township Board.
Zeeland Record
Concerned about the potential loss of prime farmland that would result from development of the proposed Silver Maple solar project, Zeeland Township planners are considering placing a total 500-acre limit on all renewable energy projects that may be built in the township.
If such a limit is adopted, that may force RWE Clean Energy, the developer of the Silver Maple project, to bypass the township and pursue approval for the project through the Michigan Public Service Commission.
RWE has been hosting a series of meetings this week to outline its site plan for Silver Maple and gather public input on the project. Hundreds turned out for public meetings Tuesday at Evergreen Ministries in Jamestown Township and Wednesday at the Zeeland Township Hall. A third and final meeting will take place at 6 p.m. tonight at the Zeeland Township Hall.
The Township Planning Commission on March 10 poured over an updated draft version of a “workable incompatible ordinance” that is stricter than Public Act 233, the current state law regulating renewable energy projects, but not so strict that a developer may forgo seeking township support and instead seek approval through the MPSC. The ordinance would address solar, wind and battery storage projects.
The proposed $300 million Silver Maple project is planned to cover 52 parcels of land totaling 1,914 acres in Zeeland and Jamestown townships. It will consist of solar panels and inverters arranged in photovoltaic arrays, along with associated facilities and infrastructure. All of the parcels slated for the project are zoned either agricultural or agricultural rural residential, according to project documents.
To help her fellow commissioners get a grasp of the magnitude of Silver Maple, new Planning Commissioner Linda Walker, a licensed pilot, recently flew over a similar-size project in Muskegon County that Consumers Energy built. The 250-megawatt Muskegon Solar Energy Center went online earlier this year. The 1,900-acre project was built on the site of the county’s resource recovery center, which includes its wastewater treatment plant.
“Muskegon County did make them put it on brownfield. They had brownfield available, which is good. It’s not taking up prime farmland,” Walker said.
Walker showed a series of photos and videos taken from her plane covering the scope of the Muskegon Solar Energy Center, raising several concerns about the potential impact of Silver Maple on the township. She said that even on a hazy day, she noticed glare reflecting up from the panels, which she says could present a problem for pilots approaching Ottawa Executive Airport if the project is built.
“Right now, the farmland just east of Ottawa Executive Airport, those panels are literally going to be right under us … when we’re (flying) our pattern,” Walker said.
An exact amount of how much of the Silver Maple project is in Zeeland Township has never been announced, although Township Manager Josh Eggleston says it mostly likely is in the neighborhood of 1,100-1,200 acres. Attorney David Eberle, who crafted the draft ordinance, said the township can place a 500-acre limit on renewable energy projects, but there are implications to that decision.
“We can keep this requirement, just understand that it’s inherently making this a nonworkable incompatible ordinance,” Eberle said. “That is a valid policy decision. It just (isn’t) providing an incentive to anyone to permit locally.”
“If you put the 500 (acre limit) in here, you are guaranteeing that they will go to the MPSC,” Eberle added.
Walker made her case for the township to stand its ground, saying forcing RWE to go to the state would result in a longer time period for the company to get the project approved.
“Either we fight … we try to protect our farmland, or we give it to them, or they have to fight for it,” she said. “If we give it to them, they take 1,900 acres. If they go to Lansing and get it, it’s still 1,900 acres. Either way, it’s the same outcome, but one is delayed.”
Scott Beute, the Township Board’s liaison to the Planning Commission, says he’s willing to take his chances with a 500-acre limit.
“I think we understand that there’s some risk in making it incompatible or unworkable, but I think we’ve talked about that quite a bit the last (meeting). I think we understand the pros and cons of that,” Beute said.
While a limit of 500 acres may be too much for RWE, some residents don’t believe such a limit goes far enough.
“What we’ve seen happen (with Silver Maple) over the last couple of months, we’ve watched this thing … it started at 900 acres, then 13 (hundred), then it dropped down to 1,200, and now it’s up to almost 1,900,” resident Dan Kerkstra said. “If you don’t put a hard limit on that, in two more months it could be 2,700 or 3,700 acres and we might not have a township left.”
Kerkstra supported putting a total 400-acre cap on all renewable energy projects in the township.
Eberle will continue to work on the draft ordinance and present an update to commissioners when they meet again on Tuesday, April 14. Commissioners could vote then to set a public hearing on the ordinance, after which the Planning Commission could vote on whether to recommend passage of the ordinance to the Township Board.
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