Michigan House votes to restrict local authority over wind, solar farms - MLive.com

Michigan House votes to restrict local authority over wind, solar farms - mlive.com

LANSING, MI — The Michigan House of Representatives voted to strip local municipalities of standard zoning approval over large wind and solar projects in a controversial move that’s part of a larger effort to push the state’s energy systems toward carbon-free power sources in the coming decades.

On the second of two marathon legislative session days, lawmakers voted along party lines to give the state permitting authority over large renewable projects, something Democrats and clean energy advocates say is necessary to hurdle opposition campaigns which have derailed wind and solar farms in some Michigan communities.

House Bills 5120 and 5121 passed the House after 11 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 2 following numerous amendments from Democrats that were unveiled so close to the floor vote that frustrated Republicans briefly left their seats — breaking a rule in place to keep members focused on voting — to meet in a backroom and look over the changes.

The bills would give the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) permitting authority over siting of wind projects with generation larger than 100-megawatts, and solar and battery storage projects with generation larger than 50-megawatts.

The legislation must pass the Senate by the end of next week on a Democratic-majority schedule that seeks to adjourn session in November instead of December so that Michigan can hold its presidential primary on Feb. 27.

If the Senate approves the legislation, it can proceed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk alongside a related package which House lawmakers also passed Thursday that would require all of the state’s energy to come from sources that do not emit climate warming gases by 2040.

The Senate passed that legislation on Oct. 26.

Democrats, facing the prospect of losing their 56-54 majority in the House because two members are up for mayoral elections on Nov. 7, passed the energy overhaul amid of flurry of other legislation in a lame duck-like week of session in Lansing.

“We recognize that this is a generational opportunity for the state to be a leader in clean energy,” said Majority Floor Leader Abraham Aiyash, D-Hamtramck. “We are on track now to have some of the highest paying clean energy jobs in the country.”

The renewable siting power legislation is supported by unions, environmental groups and clean energy developers, but is opposed by some local government officials who say communities should not be stripped of the ability to decide where, or if, power projects can develop.

Bill supporters have made a larger picture argument, saying the legislation is necessary to reduce climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions and evade bitter local fights over wind and solar projects at the community zoning level.

Today, renewable energy makes up 15 percent of Michigan’s energy portfolio. Much generation will have to be constructed to reach the state’s goal of using 50 percent renewable sources by 2030 and being 100 percent carbon-free by 2040.

Republicans accused Democrats of overriding the will of voters and predicted the move to strip local municipalities of zoning authority would backfire.

“Today is the day that we can say the Republicans are going to take the House back” from Democratic control, House Minority Leader Matt Hall, R-Richland Township told reporters.

“They’re voting to take away their townships’ and cities’ and villages’ local control over these energy projects so that Gretchen Whitmer’s appointed Public Service Commission can come in and shove solar panels and windmills all over their communities,” Hall said.

Broadly, Republican opposition to the entire energy overhaul effort is rooted in the belief that “we shouldn’t just be arbitrarily phasing out reliable power plants — natural gas plants, other reliable power sources — just in favor of wind and solar,” said House GOP person Jerry Ward.

“We want an all-of-the-above strategy.

Legislative voting on the renewable siting bills featured some tense moments as session ran late and Democrats amended the bills numerous times in an effort to appease holdouts.

After Republicans left the floor, Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, who was leading the proceedings, threatened to have House sergeants forcibly bring them back to their seats, but instead opened the bill to voting. Republicans soon returned.

It was ultimately liberals that posed the largest hurdle. Voting on House Bill 5120 lasted about 20 minutes, with Rep. Rachel Hood, D-Grand Rapids, being the main holdout.

Democrats said amendments were made on the floor to insert more local involvement in permitting, including one which gives local governments the ability to set up a process that, assuming it matches state standards, developer would have to go through. The state could overrule the outcome of that process “so long as the reason is rooted in a legitimate technical or health issue,” Aiyash said.

Another amendment would force a energy developer to pay $75,000 to a local government to cover legal costs if it wanted to intervene in the state certification process with the MPSC. Renewable developers would also be required to pay $2,000 per megawatt toward local police, fire and emergency responders.

“The amendments that we have made make sure that (local governments) are going to be the drivers of what’s going to be happening going forward,” said Rep. Jen Hill, D-Marquette.

Hill said she understands how the transition to carbon-free power sources may seem threatening to some, but argued that it helps keep money in Michigan that would otherwise be going to purchase fossil fuels in other states.

Hill said an abandoned mine site in her district that’s presently unused will become home to a 100-megawatt solar field, which will help drive down electricity rates in the U.P.

“Bringing on solar is going to help us bring those costs down, bring land back into taxable value and these townships which have very small budgets are going to see new revenue for 20 years,” Hill said.

Democrats framed the legislation as win for private property rights which would give farmers flexibility to diversify their land usage without being halted by a local elected board that may be under pressure from renewable power opponents.

“We’ve had farmers that have come to us and said, ‘we wanted to do this type of project, we signed the paperwork, we did everything we needed to do, and then all of a sudden, it was taken from underneath us,’” Aiyash said.

“This only happens if a landowner voluntarily decides to enter into an agreement with a developer and chooses to lease their land,” he said.

“When you look at some of these farmers that may be aging or the family just shifted in terms of priorities. Rather than give up their land, they actually have an opportunity to be more flexible with what they can do with that property,” Aiyash said. “It’s an overall net win. It creates energy independence, but it allows Michigan to be able to incentivize local property owners to make that decision on their own.”

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