Community divided on solar park proposal in Grant Township

CHEBOYGAN COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) — Residents gathered at a public hearing in Cheboygan County to discuss the proposed Northern Waters Solar Park in Grant Township. The project, led by EDP Renewables North America, aims to install approximately 810 acres of solar panels on privately-owned land, generating 110 megawatts of electricity with a lifespan of 35 years.

Tom Loturco, Executive Vice President for EDP Renewables North America, addressed environmental concerns raised by the community. “The United States EPA has things called a RCRA(Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) limit to ensure — and you have to do certain tests — to ensure that every panel, in order to be able to finance the project in order to be able to deploy the panel, is non-hazardous. And we actually do all of those tests and our vendors do all of those tests. And so it is absolutely untrue that these are hazardous waste,” said Loturco.

The hearing, held by the Cheboygan County Planning Commission, provided an overview of the project’s environmental impact and addressed public concerns. The solar panels are planned to be installed south of Twin Lakes Road and east of North Black River Road.

Public opinion on the project is divided. One resident expressed concern about potential environmental impacts, citing a recent ice storm. “We just had a massive ice storm that completely terrorized our community. It already put our ecosystem in an uproar. We lost so many trees. Who’s to say we’re not going to have ice storm 2.0? And all of those, you can flip the panels all you want. You won’t avoid what we just went through,” said the resident.

Another community member supported the project, emphasizing the need for energy independence.

“As we saw with the Gaylord Ice Storm, as many of you have mentioned, our more rural communities need better energy independence to reduce these catastrophic impacts of storm and other weather events. As someone who believes in thoughtful, clean energy development, especially in rural communities, I see this project as an opportunity to support local landowners, strengthen tax phase, and move toward a more resilient, independent energy future for Cheboygan,” said the resident.

If approved, construction is set to begin in 2027, with the panels expected to be operational by 2028. The proposal comes as Northern Michigan continues its recovery efforts following the March ice storm.