At the Zeeland Township Planning Commission meeting this past Tuesday evening, October 14, residents showed up to voice their concerns over the impending Solar Energy ordinance and the application by RWE Clean Energy, LLC.

Michigan’s Public Act 233 holds that if a township doesn’t allow energy companies to come in and set up shop, the state will bypass the township and allow the company to move in anyway. As such, more and more townships are feeling pushed to develop energy ordinances.

Nearby Blendon Township is combatting a similar issue with Key Capture Energy, who is looking to add a battery energy storage system to what is currently 14 acres of farmland. The Blendon residents are showing up in large numbers at township board meetings to give public comment and share an array of concerns. In fact, there has been such an immense turnout that the meetings have been held in the fire barn—and people still have lined the walls and doorways. Additionally, residents have a yard sign campaign and keep each other informed through a Facebook page.

Zeeland Township has not experienced the same banding together as Blendon has. The crowd at the last few meetings has easily been accommodated in the regular board room. And why is that? According to resident Brad DeWeerd, people aren’t hearing about what is happening. He said there’s a misconception in the community that the ordinance is being written for a hypothetical situation.

What residents don’t realize is that there is a solar developer, RWE, actively pursuing and developing a plan across hundreds of acres in Zeeland Township.

“This is not just a, ‘Well, maybe this is going to happen.’ This is happening,” DeWeerd said. “Maybe it won't go through. But my understanding is there's a higher chance of this is happening than not happening. And that's not getting conveyed.” He was concerned that the meeting minutes have given the impression that the Commission is preparing for something that might occur in the next five years, rather than RWE’s potential timeline of submitting an application by November.

The way several in attendance found out about RWE was that they'd noticed crews surveying, marking, and knocking down corn to perform tests. As RWE Development Manager Joe Brochu explained, the company does boring to determine the soil type and ability to hold tiles, which is what the residents had observed.

Planning Commission Chair Karen Kreuse encouraged residents to attend meetings to stay up on what is happening. The Commission wants to hear whether the public wants them to go through ordinances locally or go through the state. She assured those in attendance that the Commission members are doing the best they can within the parameters they’re allowed. This is a state mandate.

"We can be part of the process or have it be done for us," Kreuse said, "which is usually not the way we like it. But we have to go with what the law says we have to do. And the law's given us some choices. We can do it and get a little bit of control. Or we can send it to the state and have none.”

In light of the mandate, the Commission has proceeded with writing an ordinance, to maintain some control. RWE has been in attendance as the members have worked on the drafts. At each meeting, Brochu has given input during public comment as well as during designated presentation time to voice where he thinks the townships requirements are too strict. In so doing, RWE is seeming to hold the upper hand that if the team members aren't happy, the township will be bypassed and they will go through the state.

And the October meeting was no different. Having read the second draft of the ordinance, Brochu arrived with three items he was suggesting be changed: the 50-acre minimum parcel size, the six-foot minimum berm, and the ground depth for decommission.

"If we're not able to work with the ordinance," Brochu said, "the next step would be the whole public meeting, and then eventually file an application with the state director. That's not the goal here. I think there's just a couple of changes that would really make a difference in making it workable."

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Meanwhile, because an application by RWE has yet to be filed, residents have not been given the location of the proposed project or the size—though many have their suspicions due to the scouting efforts observed. It’s a fight to protect their families, their homes, and their community while feeling ill-equipped not knowing the details—all the while being told there’s nothing that can be done because the state is in charge.

One resident asked, “At what point is the township just sick of getting bullied around with this whole deal? I know there are other townships that are fighting this... What are other townships doing? Because you hear about it... Maybe we’ve got to look outside to these other townships, talk to them...”

“We have done that,” Chair Kreuse said. "We have done a comparison between our townships and several other townships.”

Property Values

A question was posed to the Planning Commission asking if language could be added to make sure property values wouldn’t be negatively impacted by the proximity to the solar project. Both residents and Commission members recalled that when the landfill moved into the area, Waste Management agreed to compensate homeowners if their homes sold beneath appraisal.

Referring to the landowner(s) who had made the deal with RWE for the solar project, a resident talked about how it’s not her place to tell that person what he can and can’t do with his property. That said, she felt like this project “does nothing but probably take what [her family had] built over the last 20 years.” She said right now there are probably a number of people who would want to buy a place like hers—a little ranch with a beautiful view.

“I’ve loved that view for the last 18 years. My fear is if this comes, I won’t want to sit on my porch. I don’t want to look at this. I don’t want to hear it." 

"We've heard it changes the weather around where you are because of the heat that comes off of the solar panels," she said. "The number of people that will want to purchase our property after this? Very small. So not only are we stuck where we are, but with what's happening around it.”

One resident directed the property value question to RWE. Brochu responded, “The difficulty for property values is it's hard to define it over a period of time and determine a metric. The Planning Commission would have to come up with that metric themselves and the enforcement mechanism as well. That's typically not part of the development process for solar or most other developments, whether it's building warehouses, stores, data centers, whatever else. It typically isn't workable.” He added that there would be no impact to property values.

Commissioner Dennis Russcher shook his head saying he didn’t believe it wouldn’t have an impact. The Commission made a note to research the Waste Management agreement.

When residents asked Brochu details like size and location of the project, he said his team is will working on the exact footprint and that he didn’t have an exact number. He didn’t want to share false information. Rather, all of the details would come out once the application is submitted.

RWE Project Timeline

The one thing Brochu would give was a “very broad timeline,” saying that it was really “somewhat of a guess because timelines change.” RWE is looking to submit a permit in the December to January timeframe. And on that timeline, the team would be permitting through 2026 with construction beginning in 2026, or potentially in the spring of 2027. Commercial operation would be slated for 2028.

More Resident Concern

There was a mother at the back of the room who kept her baby occupied for two and a half hours so that she could engage in the meeting and voice her concern. “I have four kids," she said, "and it's going to be in my backyard. What's going to keep my kids safe? If there's no six-foot berm... I don't need my kids running right into it. I mean, it's literally going to be in my backyard. My four young kids... I need my kids safe.”  

Resident Dan Kerkstra wondered how the noise of the solar panels would be monitored and enforced. What would happen if RWE went over what the current ordinance draft listed, "not to exceed 55 dB(A)"?

Several residents questioned why the project would be zoned agricultural if it's going to be industrialized with solar panels that contain heavy metals. “Won't those metals, at some point, make that land not usable for agriculture anymore?” one property owner asked.

A resident listed questions she hoped the Planning Commission was delving into. How long have solar panels been around? In Michigan? Do we have enough testing in place to know what the long-term repercussion is? Can RWE prove to us what some of those results or issues have been? Do we know if there's metal, cadmium, or other materials in those panels that can be leaked if the panels are damaged?

Another resident, Jeremy, had heard the contract with RWE would be for 35 years. He asked if the ordinance could restrict contracts to 20 years so that he could see the land open up again in his lifetime, or maybe his son would get to see the land again.

One community member suggested putting in the ordinance that anybody within a mile of the project would have to sign a letter of consent “because they're going to be ill-effected. There's no question about it.”

Some didn’t think the ordinance’s minimum requirement of a six-foot berm would be tall enough to hide the panels from view. One resident wondered what would happen when the wind or a tornado hits the panels and takes out his home.  

With the Ottawa Executive Airport potentially near the project location, some questions centered on airplanes and whether the airspace would be protected from glare and reflection.

One resident said, “I get there's benefits of having to go through the township. We can control something. But it feels a little bit off that [RWE is] demanding things so that they can go through the township. Because clearly it's in their best interest. What are the risks and the benefits to the township to have them apply to the township versus the state? And with the stuff that's been going on nationwide with all the solar projects starting to fall apart, and the focus the Trump Administration is putting on solar... How far will we get into this, and then it ends up being our problem for our community?

There was another resident who shared about a lawsuit in the works over a similar situation. “It's already been on appeal, and it already got stayed by the judge to continue. So that's why we're here. They're continuing because they can... The second thing along the point is, if they're going to come up with their site plan, I would like to make sure that the site plan comes out before the ordinance. Then you can run your ordinance against their site plan and see how it applies."

Zoning Administrator Lori Castello explained why some of the residents’ requests for the ordinance would not make it workable for RWE. She explained that the whole process is like a negotiation, and that the Council is putting in an honest effort to protect the citizens—but it’s a no-win situation.

Is it a no-win situation? Or could it be that the Planning Commission needs more community members to show up and give them courage to stand against the mandate, which might mean joining other communities in lawsuits. Additionally, President Trump has implied that support is coming. In August he posted on Truth Social: "We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar. The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!"

Next Steps

With the Planning Commission's review of the third draft complete, the ordinance now will be reviewed by legal counsel. Monitor the township website for additional information.