- Solar farm projects from the renewable energy company Ranger Power have been at the center of opposition from some communities
- Despite the ability to bypass local governments by applying through the state, developers still face hurdles from local communities
- The state wants utilities to get 100% of their power from clean energy sources by 2040, but the mandates required to meet that goal are being protested at both the state and local levels
Applause broke out during a Fayette Township Planning Commission meeting in Hillsdale County Monday night after the board voted 4-0 to deny Ranger Power’s proposed 140-megawatt solar farm.
The company faced similar opposition two weeks prior. Following a canceled Wexford Joint Planning Commission meeting, more than 90 people surrounded Ranger Power’s director of development, Drew Vielbig, and Wexford planning officials, questioning the impact the company’s proposed 1,400-acre solar farm there would have on the environment and property values.
Those scenes highlight the dilemma renewable energy companies face in Michigan: State law allows them to bypass local governments and get state approval for projects, but still some have struggled to gain a foothold in Michigan amid local opposition.
Michigan has at least 64 large-scale solar projects and 42 wind turbine projects operational around the state, according to industry tracking firm the Clean Grid Alliance. Twenty-five of those projects have launched since 2023, when Michigan passed a law requiring utilities to get 100% of their power from clean sources by 2040.
But in many communities, renewable developers have struggled to get off the ground in the face of strong opposition from local boards and their constituents.
In 2022, for example, Liberty Power submitted applications to Fremont and Speaker townships to develop 50 wind turbines that would utilize more than 26,000 acres across Sanilac County. The company told state regulators the townships “adopted ordinance amendments, established restrictive overlay districts and otherwise impeded progress toward local siting approvals.” In April, a planning commission in Midland County nixed a 1,200-acre DTE Energy solar project, the township supervisor saying the proposal is “tearing people apart.”
Currently, the Michigan Public Service Commission has 10 active cases for solar and wind projects across the state — three started by Ranger Power — that were either rejected at the local level or faced local opposition.
“Look at all your Pure Michigan ads. It talks about going Up North, enjoying the lakes and the country,” said Mathew Beattie, supervisor for Boon Township in Wexford County. “They’re not going to say, ‘Hey, come up and see our solar farm.’”
Veilbig, of Ranger Power, said his company prides itself on “taking a community-first approach toward project development.
“This allows us to design our projects in a way that takes the community’s feedback into account,” he wrote in an email to Bridge Michigan.
In 2023, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an 11-bill package that, in addition to requiring Michigan utilities to use 100% clean energy by 2040, limited local governments’ ability to reject renewable energy proposals by giving the Michigan Public Service Commission authority to overturn local decisions.
Still, local governments may file to intervene in the state permitting process, and a requirement for bypassing local zoning is a detailed history of local outreach.
One way developers get involved with communities is through grants to community foundations. Ranger Power, for example, has invested more than $500,000 in school programs in the state, including:
- Pinesap Solar Community Impact Fund, a one-time payment of $175,000 to support programs across Rubicon Township, the village of Port Hope and the city of Harbor Beach.
- Freshwater Solar Community Scholarship Fund and Community Fund, two programs that total around $400,000 to support students and initiatives across Montcalm County.
However, that has not always swayed the community’s feelings toward development. The Hillsdale County Community Foundation used to receive more than $10,000 from Ranger Power but stopped accepting the funds because of ongoing local opposition.
“As our current charitable relationship with Power Rangers is no longer seen as community support, we have made the decision to take a step back,” foundation Trustee Mike Smith said during Fayette Township’s Planning Commission meeting on May 7.
Public Service Commission spokesperson Matt Helms said in an email to Bridge the commission believes the state is still on track to meet its clean energy goal.
Michigan had about 8,300 megawatts of renewable energy on the grid at the end of 2025, and the state will hit its goal of 17,800 megawatts by 2030. The state’s two largest utilities, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy, must soon file plans with the commission detailing how they’ll provide power to their customers over the next 20 years.
Locals aren’t the only ones pushing back. In May, Michigan House Republicans passed House Bills 5710 and 5711, which aim to roll back the state’s clean energy requirements. Leaders in the Democrat-controlled state Senate said the bills are dead on arrival in that chamber.
“I do not see this as green energy,” said state Sen. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, after the canceled meeting in Wexford County. “I do not see removing the green grass, green fields and green trees to put black plastic solar panels as green energy. I just don’t see it.”
Michigan State University bioenergy educator Charles Gould said there are two reasons projects aren’t always welcomed in some communities.
“The first one is, yes, people don’t realize that you can grow crops in solar projects, but the second one is that solar developers haven’t helped themselves,” he said. “They don’t lead with agriculture, they lead with megawatts. There has to be an education of the general public, but there also needs to be an education of solar developers.”
Many residents at township meetings cite concerns over the impact projects will have on the environment. Residents in Wexford County, for example, raised concerns that broken solar panels could leach chemicals into the ground.
Both Gould and Ranger Power dismissed that concern.
Gould said a more sustainable plan should be created to incorporate farming into solar farms.
“I think as a state, we’re looking at this all wrong,” he said. “We need a whole paradigm shift. Growing crops and grazing livestock under solar is not a new thing … Instead of focusing on megawatt production, let’s put the farmer first.”
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