RWE has scheduled additional public hearings for a 200-megawatt solar project in Zeeland Township and Jamestown Township, but the meetings don’t signal a restart for the company’s application before the Michigan Public Service Commission.
“The (permit application) is paused while we conduct additional outreach with local stakeholders,” the company wrote in a statement to The Sentinel. “As part of that outreach, we have scheduled public meetings in Zeeland (Township) and Jamestown (Township). RWE remains committed to the project, and we expect to move forward with our application in the near future.”
RWE suspended scheduling for the 1,914-acre project — proposed on agricultural-zoned land south of I-196 near the Ottawa Executive Airport — in July, agreeing to waive a twelve-month decision deadline “while it evaluates measures to address the impacts” of a decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals in May.
The decision provided an updated interpretation of an “Affected Local Unit” — one that would include Ottawa County in addition to Zeeland Township and Jamestown Township. The company is required to follow certain protocol in relation to ALUs.
The Zeeland Township Board of Trustees sent a letter to the Ottawa County Board on July 21, urging the body to become an intervenor in the case before the MPSC. Board Chair Josh Brugger, however, said such an action would be moot because the application is currently paused, also pointing out the judicial decision could be overturned by the Michigan Supreme Court.
Should the application resume and the option to intervene remain, the decision would first be discussed in open meetings by the Planning and Policy Committee, according to Brugger.
RWE’s public hearings are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Drenthe Grove Dozeman Center and 5:30 p.m. Sept. 3 at Evergreen Ministries. The company has previously indicated in court filings the project “cannot survive being forced to restart.”
At least two lawsuits have been filed over Silver Maple Solar
There are at least two pending court cases in relation to Silver Maple Solar.
RWE filed a civil lawsuit against several community members in June, alleging violations of a signed lease agreement and continued refusal to allow access to project property. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sept. 18.
Zeeland Township has also sued RWE, asking a circuit court judge to declare the state’s much-debated Public Act 233 unconstitutional. The relatively new state statute allows applicants behind certain utility-scale solar, wind and battery energy storage projects to seek approval directly from the MPSC, unless all affected local governments have adopted ordinances that are no more restrictive than state standards.
There were no scheduled hearing dates for the case as of Aug. 10.
— Cassidey Kavathas is the politics and court reporter at The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at ckavathas@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on X @cassideykava.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: RWE plans ‘continued public outreach’ with two more hearings
Reporting by Cassidey Kavathas, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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By Cassidey Kavathas, Holland Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
