(at left) - Zeeland Township resident Brad DeWeerd, holding a packet of papers he had printed off of the Silver Maple project’s website, claims the information in the packet doesn’t match the company’s intent for the solar project.; (at right) - Zeeland Township resident Elizabeth Krol speaks out in support of RWE and its handling of a lease agreement which is allowing the company to build a portion of the Silver Maple project on her father’s property. Krol said the arrangement will help keep the land in the family.
Zeeland Township hog farmer and Planning Commissioner Dennis Russcher asks RWE officials what the impact of the Silver Maple project will be on his family farm.
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
As Zeeland Township planners continue to debate a renewable energy ordinance, the developer of the proposed Silver Maple solar project is preparing to seek approval through the state.
RWE Clean Energy LLC, a company based in Germany that has its U.S. headquarters in Austin, Tex., is expected next month to file an application with the Michigan Public Service Commission for approval of the 200-megawatt Silver Maple project, which is planned for more than 1,900 acres of farmland in Zeeland and Jamestown townships.
RWE held three public meetings last week – two at the Zeeland Township Hall and one at Evergreen Ministries in Jamestown Township – to detail its plans for the $330 million project, which it hopes to have in operation by late 2028.
Company officials say the project will generate enough electricity to power 34,000 homes.
The meetings were required under Public Act 233, the 2023 state law that regulates renewable energy projects in Michigan, before the company can apply for approval of Silver Maple through the MPSC – a three-member body appointed by the governor that regulates utilities and telecommunications companies in the state.
More than 190 people turned out March 17 for the initial presentation at Evergreen Ministries, and the first presentation at the Township Hall March 18 attracted more than 100 people, the vast majority staunchly opposed to the project.
A second presentation at the Township Hall took place last Thursday. The Zeeland Record was present for the March 18 presentation.
In his site plan presentation, RWE project manager Joe Brochu explained why Zeeland and Jamestown were selected for the Silver Maple project. Chief among them is the proximity of the project to a 345-kilovolt north/south transmission line that transports electricity over long distances.
“It had capacity to take in energy that this project would create,” Brochu said.
The townships also offered plenty of flat, buildable land. “It’s land that works well for solar development,” Brochu said.
And in addition, there was interest from some landowners in the project. A total of 52 parcels, covering 1,914 acres, are proposed for the project. The proximity of the project to two major load centers, in Holland and Grand Rapids, also made the area a viable location, Brochu said.
Brochu noted that even though 1,914 acres are under lease, RWE expects the amount of land to be used for the project to shrink down to 1,127 acres “once we remove wetlands, setback areas, streams, drains, areas that we don’t want to disturb and that are not conducive to solar development.”
Brochu touted the economic impact of Silver Maple, saying it would generate $31.6 million of local tax revenue over the expected 35-year life of the project – including $6.7 million for Zeeland Public Schools, $6.6 million for Ottawa County and $4.7 million for Zeeland Township.
But the vast majority of township residents who attended the presentation aren’t buying RWE’s claims. They say the project will harm local agriculture as well as the environment. Some took issue with the company’s plans to apply for project approval through the state.
“Did Zeeland (Township) tell you that they’re done negotiating with you, that’s why you are going to the MPSC?” farmer Loran Moyer asked. “I thought you were supposed to negotiate until you came to an agreement. The last Planning Commission (meeting) I was at, they were still negotiating. I don’t know why you’re pulling out and running to the state.”
The township Planning Commission has spent its last two meetings discussing a proposed “workable incompatible ordinance” that is stricter than PA 233, but not so strict that a developer may bypass the local permitting process and go directly to MPSC. At their last meeting March 10, commissioners were considering a 500-acre cap on all renewable energy projects that may be built in the township.
Dennis Russcher, a Planning Commission member who has raised hogs at his 48th Avenue farm for the last 45 years, questioned whether he and his three sons will be able to continue farming after the project becomes operational.
“I’m going to have solar panels all around my hog barns,” said Russcher, who has openly expressed his opposition to the project at Planning Commission meetings. “I am the only farm in the area that you guys aren’t putting solar panels on.
I want to know what that’s gonna do to my livestock and (those) barns where this commercial-industrial solar site (is to be built). Am I going to be able to still produce pigs?”
In his presentation, Brochu said that Silver Maple would take up 1.3 percent of Ottawa County’s farmland. However, he did not state what percentage of farmland in Zeeland and Jamestown townships would be used for the project. The Zeeland Record sent an email to Brochu on March 19 asking how much farmland in the two townships would be used for Silver Maple, and did not receive a response by press time.
Monty Vander Wall, a father of four who lives on 56th Avenue, questioned whether the project will produce the amount of energy RWE claims, citing the often-cloudy conditions in the area, particularly in winter. He asked whether the company would be willing to meet certain performance metrics for the project.
“If we’re going to turn this much prime farmland to solar panels, they should be highly effective. Other businesses and organizations in Zeeland are held to measurable, predetermined metrics. Shouldn’t it be the same for you?” Vander Wall said.
Brad DeWeerd, a 48th Avenue resident, came to the podium with a packet of several hundred pages of information about the project he had printed off its website. Holding the packet up, DeWeerd called it “RWE’s book of lies.”
“Everything I’ve read in here is different than what you’ve been saying the last two nights,” DeWeerd said. “How can we trust anything you say? … I’ve been preaching to my township board to read this thing, understand what’s going on, and now you made me look like an idiot. It’s all wrong. Everything in here is just a bunch of lies.”
“All I can say is, let the Lord be with you guys, because the way you’ve treated people, there’s only one place you’re going, and it’s not to heaven,” DeWeerd added.
One resident whose father has signed a lease with RWE spoke out in support of the company. Elizabeth Krol said that her father has farmed their land on 56th Avenue since 1974, and that he knew from the outset when he signed the lease that there was a possibility of a project going on his land. She said she isn’t in a position to buy the land.
“With land values what they are and the cost of farming what it is, it’s just not financially feasible for my husband and I to purchase the land and continue farming it,” Krol said. “I love the land, I love raising my children here, but full-time farming is not a viable option for us. Leasing the land to RWE gives us a chance to keep the land in the family.”
Krol also appealed to project opponents to “stop slandering and vilifying those landowners that have made a different decision than what you agree with.”
Some speakers expressed concern that another company would buy RWE or the Silver Maple project and not maintain the site properly. Brochu said there is a mechanism for addressing that situation should it occur.
“We own and operate 12 gigawatts in the U.S. Owning and operating is our primary business model,” he said. “Ultimately, the reason why it’s important to have these ordinances or to have a state process is that any buyer of the project, any operator, is held to the same standards. They are held to our design, they’re held to the state laws.”
While earlier project renderings showed the presence of battery storage facilities as part of Silver Maple, Brochu insists there are no plans for including battery storage as part of the project.
“That’s not part of our plan right now. If BESS were to be added, that would be a whole different project, a whole different permit, and that’s not part of our application,” he said.
Overall, RWE has seven projects under development in the state and one where construction has begun. The company currently has an application pending before the MPSC on a 175-megawatt solar project in Lenawee County in southeastern Michigan, according to the MPSC website.
Written public comments on the Silver Maple project are still being accepted, but the deadline to submit them is this Friday. They may be submitted to Brochu at silvermaple@rwe.com. Residents may also submit comments to the MPSC at mpscdockets@michigan.gov.
Zeeland Record
As Zeeland Township planners continue to debate a renewable energy ordinance, the developer of the proposed Silver Maple solar project is preparing to seek approval through the state.
RWE Clean Energy LLC, a company based in Germany that has its U.S. headquarters in Austin, Tex., is expected next month to file an application with the Michigan Public Service Commission for approval of the 200-megawatt Silver Maple project, which is planned for more than 1,900 acres of farmland in Zeeland and Jamestown townships.
RWE held three public meetings last week – two at the Zeeland Township Hall and one at Evergreen Ministries in Jamestown Township – to detail its plans for the $330 million project, which it hopes to have in operation by late 2028.
Company officials say the project will generate enough electricity to power 34,000 homes.
The meetings were required under Public Act 233, the 2023 state law that regulates renewable energy projects in Michigan, before the company can apply for approval of Silver Maple through the MPSC – a three-member body appointed by the governor that regulates utilities and telecommunications companies in the state.
More than 190 people turned out March 17 for the initial presentation at Evergreen Ministries, and the first presentation at the Township Hall March 18 attracted more than 100 people, the vast majority staunchly opposed to the project.
A second presentation at the Township Hall took place last Thursday. The Zeeland Record was present for the March 18 presentation.
In his site plan presentation, RWE project manager Joe Brochu explained why Zeeland and Jamestown were selected for the Silver Maple project. Chief among them is the proximity of the project to a 345-kilovolt north/south transmission line that transports electricity over long distances.
“It had capacity to take in energy that this project would create,” Brochu said.
The townships also offered plenty of flat, buildable land. “It’s land that works well for solar development,” Brochu said.
And in addition, there was interest from some landowners in the project. A total of 52 parcels, covering 1,914 acres, are proposed for the project. The proximity of the project to two major load centers, in Holland and Grand Rapids, also made the area a viable location, Brochu said.
Brochu noted that even though 1,914 acres are under lease, RWE expects the amount of land to be used for the project to shrink down to 1,127 acres “once we remove wetlands, setback areas, streams, drains, areas that we don’t want to disturb and that are not conducive to solar development.”
Brochu touted the economic impact of Silver Maple, saying it would generate $31.6 million of local tax revenue over the expected 35-year life of the project – including $6.7 million for Zeeland Public Schools, $6.6 million for Ottawa County and $4.7 million for Zeeland Township.
But the vast majority of township residents who attended the presentation aren’t buying RWE’s claims. They say the project will harm local agriculture as well as the environment. Some took issue with the company’s plans to apply for project approval through the state.
“Did Zeeland (Township) tell you that they’re done negotiating with you, that’s why you are going to the MPSC?” farmer Loran Moyer asked. “I thought you were supposed to negotiate until you came to an agreement. The last Planning Commission (meeting) I was at, they were still negotiating. I don’t know why you’re pulling out and running to the state.”
The township Planning Commission has spent its last two meetings discussing a proposed “workable incompatible ordinance” that is stricter than PA 233, but not so strict that a developer may bypass the local permitting process and go directly to MPSC. At their last meeting March 10, commissioners were considering a 500-acre cap on all renewable energy projects that may be built in the township.
Dennis Russcher, a Planning Commission member who has raised hogs at his 48th Avenue farm for the last 45 years, questioned whether he and his three sons will be able to continue farming after the project becomes operational.
“I’m going to have solar panels all around my hog barns,” said Russcher, who has openly expressed his opposition to the project at Planning Commission meetings. “I am the only farm in the area that you guys aren’t putting solar panels on.
I want to know what that’s gonna do to my livestock and (those) barns where this commercial-industrial solar site (is to be built). Am I going to be able to still produce pigs?”
In his presentation, Brochu said that Silver Maple would take up 1.3 percent of Ottawa County’s farmland. However, he did not state what percentage of farmland in Zeeland and Jamestown townships would be used for the project. The Zeeland Record sent an email to Brochu on March 19 asking how much farmland in the two townships would be used for Silver Maple, and did not receive a response by press time.
Monty Vander Wall, a father of four who lives on 56th Avenue, questioned whether the project will produce the amount of energy RWE claims, citing the often-cloudy conditions in the area, particularly in winter. He asked whether the company would be willing to meet certain performance metrics for the project.
“If we’re going to turn this much prime farmland to solar panels, they should be highly effective. Other businesses and organizations in Zeeland are held to measurable, predetermined metrics. Shouldn’t it be the same for you?” Vander Wall said.
Brad DeWeerd, a 48th Avenue resident, came to the podium with a packet of several hundred pages of information about the project he had printed off its website. Holding the packet up, DeWeerd called it “RWE’s book of lies.”
“Everything I’ve read in here is different than what you’ve been saying the last two nights,” DeWeerd said. “How can we trust anything you say? … I’ve been preaching to my township board to read this thing, understand what’s going on, and now you made me look like an idiot. It’s all wrong. Everything in here is just a bunch of lies.”
“All I can say is, let the Lord be with you guys, because the way you’ve treated people, there’s only one place you’re going, and it’s not to heaven,” DeWeerd added.
One resident whose father has signed a lease with RWE spoke out in support of the company. Elizabeth Krol said that her father has farmed their land on 56th Avenue since 1974, and that he knew from the outset when he signed the lease that there was a possibility of a project going on his land. She said she isn’t in a position to buy the land.
“With land values what they are and the cost of farming what it is, it’s just not financially feasible for my husband and I to purchase the land and continue farming it,” Krol said. “I love the land, I love raising my children here, but full-time farming is not a viable option for us. Leasing the land to RWE gives us a chance to keep the land in the family.”
Krol also appealed to project opponents to “stop slandering and vilifying those landowners that have made a different decision than what you agree with.”
Some speakers expressed concern that another company would buy RWE or the Silver Maple project and not maintain the site properly. Brochu said there is a mechanism for addressing that situation should it occur.
“We own and operate 12 gigawatts in the U.S. Owning and operating is our primary business model,” he said. “Ultimately, the reason why it’s important to have these ordinances or to have a state process is that any buyer of the project, any operator, is held to the same standards. They are held to our design, they’re held to the state laws.”
While earlier project renderings showed the presence of battery storage facilities as part of Silver Maple, Brochu insists there are no plans for including battery storage as part of the project.
“That’s not part of our plan right now. If BESS were to be added, that would be a whole different project, a whole different permit, and that’s not part of our application,” he said.
Overall, RWE has seven projects under development in the state and one where construction has begun. The company currently has an application pending before the MPSC on a 175-megawatt solar project in Lenawee County in southeastern Michigan, according to the MPSC website.
Written public comments on the Silver Maple project are still being accepted, but the deadline to submit them is this Friday. They may be submitted to Brochu at silvermaple@rwe.com. Residents may also submit comments to the MPSC at mpscdockets@michigan.gov.
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