Gaylord solar lease plan sparks broad battle over green energy in Michigan

• A battle over a proposal to put solar panels on state land near Gaylord has spiraled into a broader debate about green energy
• While lawmakers skeptical of green energy call for a halt to solar development on public lands, some environmentalists are accusing them of hypocrisy
• The solar industry is a relatively small player among multiple private industries that do business on public lands 

Controversy over a proposal to lease state forestland near Gaylord for a solar farm has spiraled into a broader battle over Michigan’s role in the transition to green energy.

Days after the proposed lease prompted outcry from several Republican lawmakers and one Democrat, some opponents decried its ties to the “green energy agenda,” and demanded the Department of Natural Resources halt all solar developments on public land.

“We … demand a thorough report on all DNR involvement with efforts to replace valuable natural resources with unproven green energy technologies,” 52 Republican state representatives and one Democrat, Rep. Karen Whitsett, D-Detroit, wrote in a Monday letter to DNR Director Scott Bowen.

Some environmentalists are coming to the DNR’s defense, accusing lawmakers of hypocrisy for condemning the 420-acre solar proposal while ignoring other industrial activities that have far bigger footprints on state land, from oil and gas pipelines to logging and mining.

“Their concern is only habitat loss for renewable energy,” said Marvin Roberson, a forest ecologist for the Michigan Sierra Club. “They’re fine with habitat loss for fossil fuels.”

The prospects for the Gaylord plan are unclear. Officials with the company that initially approached DNR officials about the site, RWE Clean Energy, say they’re no longer interested in it. DNR officials still plan to collect public comment on their intent to lease the land before deciding whether to seek proposals from other companies. 

The battle highlights the partisan divide over climate change and Michigan’s response to it. 

In 2023, a narrow Democratic majority in Lansing passed a law requiring utilities to achieve 100% clean energy by 2040.

The mandate could require installing 209,000 acres of wind and solar arrays, an area roughly the equivalent of all of Leelanau County.

Related:

• Amid outcry, solar farm owner says it no longer wants Michigan forest to expand
• Deep in the UP, an abandoned mine could offer hope for green energy fights
• Wind wars: Wind turbines put green energy on the ballot in mid-Michigan
• Michigan’s controversial wind, solar energy law is in effect. What to know

Republican lawmakers uniformly opposed the legislation, mirroring national political dynamics in which Democrats tend to favor renewable energy as a response to the climate crisis, while Republicans embrace oil and gas drilling and often downplay concerns about climate change.

Now, after winning a majority of the state House, Republicans have vowed scrutiny of Michigan’s strategy for expanding wind and solar arrays on public lands.

In an interview Monday with Bridge, Borton said lawmakers “are going to take a complete, holistic look at (the DNR’s) entire property management plan.”

A battle over 420 acres

For years, DNR officials have explored ways the state’s 4.6 million acres of public lands could play a role in the energy transition. So far, the effort has focused on industrial sites or other parcels seen as less-than-prime land.

They’ve made no secret of their plans, outlining them in public documents and frequently discussing them with news reporters. 

Eventually, DNR officials hope to lease up to 4,000 acres for solar power, less than 0.10% of state-managed lands. 

So far, the DNR has signed agreements for proposed solar developments at three sites: 

• An abandoned iron mine in Dickinson County, which some have highlighted as a model for using renewable energy to breathe new life into polluted brownfields
• A site of about 1,000 acres in Roscommon near an airport, supported by some who say it will increase tax revenues and create jobs
• An abandoned gravel mine near Grayling for a project that never materialized

Lawmakers near Gaylord said they were blindsided by an MLive article Thursday in which DNR officials detailed plans to lease 420 acres near Gaylord to a solar energy developer. 

Three Republican representatives called for “mass firings” in the DNR.

Responding to accusations of secrecy, DNR officials said they’re following a law that dictates the process for leasing state land for commercial purposes. It begins with publishing a notice in the local newspaper. The DNR did so on Tuesday.

That initiates a public comment period, followed by a possible public meeting before DNR officials decide whether to solicit proposals from companies interested in leasing the land.

The DNR regularly leases public land to private industries for everything from oil and gas infrastructure to cell phone towers and gravel pits. 

It also contracts with timber companies that log roughly 50,000 acres annually. And it sometimes sells land to private industry — one example is a 2015 deal involving thousands of acres for a limestone mine in the Upper Peninsula.

How good is the land?

Borton told Bridge he isn’t especially concerned about logging or oil and gas development on public land. But he takes issue with solar panels, arguing they are more destructive to habitat and land access.

“Any person who thinks swapping trees for solar panels is a good idea has no business being employed by the department tasked with responsibly managing and protecting our natural resources,” he said.

The proposed solar lease near Gaylord includes three parcels that have been repeatedly logged. The land contains a mix of mature trees and unforested land dotted with oil and gas wells and bisected by power lines.

State land managers said they saw the property as an ideal spot for solar energy, in part because it is impacted by industry and surrounded by private land slated for RWE’s solar energy development.

“One of the strategies that we use as a land manager is to group disturbances,” said DNR public lands director Scott Whitcomb, referring to a strategy that tries to minimize overall harm to the landscape.

Roberson, the forester for the Sierra Club, said his group will review details about the proposed solar lease once the DNR kicks off its public review process. 

On first glance, he said, the land doesn’t seem to contain prime habitat or recreation land.

“It's disconnected from other state forest land,” he said. “It's surrounded by residential and industrial development, and highways run through it…we've not been shy about criticizing the DNR for inappropriate use of public lands or lack of public accountability, clarification and public input. This, so far, does not rise to any of those.”

Whitcomb said the DNR will launch a web portal for public comments on the proposed solar lease. After reviewing those comments, agency officials will decide whether to solicit proposals from companies interested in leasing the land.