Huron County rethinks solar and battery project fees as legal questions grow

Huron County commissioners are facing a key question: can they charge fees for large solar and battery projects at all — and if so, how much?

Conflicting interpretations of state law have created uncertainty, fueling frustration and pushing officials to reconsider how the county structures its fees during the commissioners’ April 24 meeting.

Adjusting the county’s fee structure could increase revenue for Huron County by charging developers more for more land. However, unclear state exemptions have caused opposing interpretations of whether or not solar and battery facilities qualify for the fee, which developers have cited in arguing against higher fees.

Jeff Smith, Huron County building and zoning director, raised the issue when he approached the commissioners about an upcoming application he anticipates the planning commission will receive for a special use permit for The Pine Sap Solar Project in Rubicon Township. The main concerns center around the fee amount and the exemptions for the fee.

“Our ordinance has a multitude of land uses that are required to be approved under special use permit,” Smith explained. “Typically, special use permits involve one parcel of land, which is entirely different for these other projects of this magnitude, such as solar or battery. However, battery energy storage may just be one parcel of land. So I’m not sure if the county would like to use a fee structure based on parcels, based on megawatt or break it out for each use?”

Smith added that the county currently charges $800 for a special use permit for a regular monthly meeting or $1,200 for a special meeting. In comparison, Smith referenced the Michigan Public Service Commission’s $10,000 application fee, along with additional charges for staff time exceeding 150 hours worked.

To help demonstrate why these application fee amounts are relevant, Smith used the Pine Sap Solar Project as an example. 

According to him, that project is a 150 megawatt solar project consisting of 27 parcels of land, totaling 1,586.9 acres.

“If you use the $800 per parcel that we currently charge for special use permits, it’d be 27 times 800 for a $21,600 application fee,” he said.

The confusion, however, lies in different interpretations of a state law that outlines the types of construction sites that are exempt from these fees, which determines if the county can charge or inspect at all.

“It’s very frustrating because our attorney agreed with their attorney to say they’re exempt and not required to get permits,” he said. “But other jurisdictions are getting permits and having inspections on all this stuff.”

According to Smith, there’s a state law that has been interpreted to exclude certain “heavy civil construction” projects under the State Construction Code Act.

The law, MCL Section 125.1502, has been interpreted by some attorneys to mean certain large-scale energy projects qualify as “heavy civil construction” and may fall outside the act’s permitting requirements, though this interpretation is not explicitly defined and varies by jurisdiction.

Using this, Smith said their attorneys issued an opinion March 24, 2025, agreeing with counsel for NextEra Energy that their battery storage project on Pinnebog Road qualifies for an exemption under the state Construction Code Act. As a result, no county inspections have been conducted on the construction under the current interpretation, including footings and foundations.

“We have an opinion from our council that these facilities are exempt, but Sanilac County is charging permit fees and inspections for their solar projects,” Smith said. “I emailed the state of Michigan and they’re saying it’s up to the authority having jurisdiction.”

Smith later clarified it was the chief electrical inspector who told him this.

In Michigan, enforcement of the construction code is handled by local “authorities having jurisdiction,” meaning counties and municipalities can interpret and apply certain provisions differently. The authority that has jurisdiction, Smith said, is his office.

As a result, Smith advocated for revising the fee, indicating support for an increase. He pointed to the state’s application fee of $1 per solar panel, as Smith said Sanilac County recently issued a solar project permit with a building permit fee of approximately $400,000.

In response to the information provided by Smith, Commissioner John Hunt simply said, “As far as I’m concerned, they should pay whatever the maximum amount there is for this stuff.”

“We need to come up with our own contract, with our own agreement,” Chairman Sami Khoury countered.

To start that process, the commissioners decided to bring the issue to the committees to take a further look. The finance committee will work on the fee structure while the legislative committee handles the reimbursement agreement.

To help facilitate those meetings and ensure solutions align with the building and zoning department, Smith was asked to send an email with his expectations to both committees after Friday’s meeting concluded.

The finance committee will meet May 7 at 1 p.m. and the legislative committee will meet May 11 at 1 p.m. to discuss their designated part of the puzzle.