The owners of Rare Earth Goods have installed the largest solar installation at the time the photo was taken in Ishpeming and the second largest in Marquette County. Sixty-seven solar panels power the 30-kilowatt system, which spans the entire 96-by-63-foot surface area of the building’s roof. (Courtesy photo)

MARQUETTE — House Republicans are pushing to repeal a 2023 law that gives the state siting authority over large renewable energy projects.

The law, which went into effect last November, gives the Public Service Commission the ability to issue permits to developers for utility-scale solar, wind and battery storage projects when local governments are uncooperative.

The commission hasn’t received any formal applications from developers yet, said public information officer Matt Helms. He declined to further comment.

Supporters of the law say it’s a step forward in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but critics say it takes away local control over land use.

Before the new law kicked in, the siting process — choosing where developers can build — was completely up to local units of government, said Judy Allen, the director of government relations at the Michigan Townships Association.

She said the association’s members oppose the law.

Allen said under the law, local governments can make zoning decisions only if they have a compatible renewable energy ordinance.

That means zoning regulations can’t be overly restrictive towards renewable energy projects.

If a local government doesn’t meet the standards set by the state, developers can bypass working with them and go to the commission for approval.

But some township governments have adopted “workable ordinances” instead –meaning they are more limiting than what the state recommends — but developers still have the opportunity to build.

Catherine Kaufman is a Portage-based attorney with expertise in zoning. Her law firm serves as general legal counsel to the Townships Association, and she favors repealing the law.

Kaufman said most of the time, developers want to work with townships and are willing to go through their zoning approval process – even if it’s more restrictive than applying directly to the Public Service Commission.

Working with local governments is seen as cheaper and less time-consuming for developers than the state process, Kaufman said.

“We represent several municipalities and rural townships that have worked cooperatively with developers and approved projects,” Kaufman said. “In our experience, we really didn’t see the need for the law.”

Before the law passed, over 30 counties adopted resolutions opposing state siting of solar and wind projects, according to a 2024 USA Today database.

A significant number of townships had restrictive zoning regulations.

For example, 14 of 20 Montcalm County townships banned wind turbines. Clinton County passed a year-long moratorium — a ban — on wind and solar power plants in 2023, according to the database.

Environmental groups want the law left unchanged.

“Some local governments, instead of doing an outright moratorium, have put into place overly restrictive guidelines that no reasonable project would be able to meet. In essence, they are banning it,” Carlee Knott said.

Knott is the energy and climate policy manager at the Michigan Environmental Council, which helped write the law.

“Local governments still get first pass at approving these projects,” she said.

She said her organization wanted to make sure there were community benefits in the legislation.

In most cases, developers going through the Public Service Commission must give a grant to the local government to cover the costs of participating in the project proposal.

Local governments also receive $2,000 per megawatt of the project that they can reinvest into the community, Knott said. For solar projects, the minimum megawatt to be regulated by the law is 50 MW, while wind is 100 MW.

One megawatt is enough electricity to power roughly 400 to 900 homes in a year, according to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Knott said the law puts renewable energy “on the same playing field” as other energy facilities — like nuclear, coal and gas — which are sited by the state.

She also said large renewable projects are the most cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from utilities.

“A lot of work went into passing that law, and it’s a step forward,” Knott said. “I don’t think we should be taking steps back with this law to repeal it after it has already passed and the process is set up.”

Rep. Jennifer Wortz, R-Quincy, cosponsored the repeal bill.

She said the law was passed to enforce Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan – a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Wortz said she thinks developers are pushing renewable energy projects only because of the law.

“If we get rid of that mandate, I think you’ll see solar panels virtually stop being put in Michigan,” Wortz said.

She said solar and wind projects take up too much land compared to other energy sources.

In Branch County, about 5,000 acres of farmland are now used for solar panels because of a high power line infrastructure project, Wortz said.

“None of us are benefitting from the power being rerouted to other locations,” she said.

Wortz said she and other Republicans are critical of the law for stripping local zoning control.

Passing the bill is “the first step in giving local control back to communities and giving them a voice again,” she said.