Anyone who has followed the Heartwood II proposal in Fayette Township should recognize one thing: the state law that regulates large-scale renewable energy development is deeply broken and wrong. 

Whether you think Michigan needs to invest in more solar or not, Public Act 233 strips away any requirement for a project to seek local engagement and tailor its scope to what a community desires. If a local government doesn’t cooperate, it doesn’t matter. The whole point of PA 233 is to circumvent local government. 

Earlier this year, I met with Ranger Power. I went in with a lot of concerns and questions about the latest proposal in Fayette Township. My biggest concern is that this project takes an unreasonable amount of agricultural land out of commission in the township. I do disagree fundamentally with PA 233, but at a minimum it does set a protection of not taking an unreasonable amount of farm ground for green energy projects. It seems clear to me that Ranger Power is overstepping that boundary. I was hopeful that we could find common ground on this issue and agree that the opposition isn’t just “a few naysayers.” 

The staff from Ranger Power told me that they cared deeply about community feedback. They said they understood the concerns and wanted to work through them with the community as a partner. They said they wanted to pursue local siting with local input, because they didn’t want to go where they were not wanted. 

I left that meeting with some hope that more local feedback would be sought and heard out. But that has turned out to be just empty words. 

With the lawsuit Ranger Power filed last month against the township and planning commission, they have made their position clear. They don’t care about local input and are circumventing the process set in law on how to proceed. They are now holding an expensive legal battle over the township’s head as leverage. 

If Ranger really wants to continue with this project, they have a way of doing so. The law gives them the right to appeal to the MPSC and bypass local decisions. Why haven’t they done that? Are they trying to preserve some fake appearance of “local siting” for this project? This lawsuit seems to make it clear that they don’t care about the local government process and community input, as hundreds of people who live in the community have expressed strong opposition. 

If Ranger wants to work with locals, they need to respect the township’s decision and be willing to make changes. The township cites several reasons for denying the project in June. Some of which were not listening to area residents or working with them on how to limit the scope of the project. I had a meeting with Ranger again today and asked that they reconsider the requests of the people and the local officials who have been elected to represent them.   

So I again ask Ranger Power to respect what they told me this spring and not go where they are not wanted. Respect the will of the people in Fayette Township. But if they’re not willing to listen, then follow the law, and appeal to the MPSC. Defend this project there and try to convince them that this is a reasonable takeover of rural farm ground in a township. Defend why over twenty-five percent of farm ground and open space is needed for another solar project in Fayette Township. 

Being a good neighbor means you listen to your neighbors and find a compromise. You don’t circumvent the law and process in place with a lawsuit, costing taxpayers legal fees. This seems highly contradictory to the community investment they say they want to make.