LANSING, Mich. — Solar farms in Michigan are front and center this Earth Day following a vote by leaders with the House Energy Committee.

The committee voted on House Bills 4027 and 4028, which would bring the power over clean energy projects back to the local level.

Both bills, which are sponsored by State Representative Gregory Alexander (R-98th District), come as a direct repeal to a pair of laws passed in 2023 (Public Acts 233 and 234) that removed local control over zoning for large wind and solar energy projects, placing it in the hands of state leaders.

House Bill 4027:

“I’m not opposed to wind and solar developments when they’re supported by the communities who have to live with them,” Alexander said. “This is about opposing government overreach and takeover.”

The decision to end local control was part of a larger initiative of reaching 100% clean energy by 2040, but Alexander said the power now lies with people who have never set foot in the community, taking the choice away from those who actually live there.

“Let the communities that want these projects have them, and those who don’t be heard and respected,” Alexander said.

More than 20 people testified in front of the committee Tuesday, with a majority of them in support of the bills and restoring power to the local level.

House Bill 4028:

“Local governments understand their communities better than the state does,” Dina Basworth, director of governmental affairs for the Michigan Association of Counties, said.

Cori Wilbur, who serves on the planning commission and zoning board of appeals for Keene Township, grew up in a farming family, also marrying into one.

While voicing her support of both bills, Wilbur touches on the economic impact that removing thousands of acres of farming land would have.

One example was farms having to pay more for fertilizer since their previous supplier’s farm has been converted to a solar facility, in turn, causing higher food prices for everyone else.

“You really need to be there working in it every day to be able to understand,” Wilbur said. “These are some things that will put small farms like ours out of business very, very quickly.”

Cara Ostrander’s family owns two farmsteads, dating back 150 years.

Ostrander’s testimony came from the opposing point of view when her township changed local ordinance after she had already signed the lease for solar, which she said stopped her ability to diversify her income and save the family farm.

“In my situation, the only loss of control was the loss to control my land, which I own and try to make a living from,” Ostrander said. “It shouldn’t be undone before it even has given a chance to work.”

Testimonies continued on both sides for more than an hour, with the committee voting in favor in the end.

“Simply put, the state should never have taken zoning authority over these projects away from our local governments,” Representative Jason Woolford (R-50th District) said.

Although both bills were voted out of committee Tuesday, there is a long road ahead before they are potentially signed into law.