This week, we brought you the story of a massive West Michigan wind turbine proposal that’s now dead. The company Apex Clean Energy dropped its plans after years of heated local debates in Montcalm County.
In our interview with Elisabeth Waldon, the news editor of the Daily News of Montcalm and Ionia counties, she told us that wouldn’t be the end of the issue of wind power in the area. And she was right.
Now there’s word of another proposal for an industrial-scale wind turbine project. And again, we turned to Waldon for the details.
She spoke with Michigan Public Morning Edition host Doug Tribou.
Doug Tribou: To briefly recap, Apex Clean Energy had hoped to put up turbines on 50,000 acres in 11 communities. They got 500 farmers and other landowners to sign up, but fell short on the total space they wanted, so they killed the proposal.
Now, enter a company called NextEra with a different plan. What have you found out so far about the vision and the scale for NextEra's proposal?
Elisabeth Waldon: NextEra Energy has not been willing to talk to me yet, but I have learned that they are working to bring a project called the Ionia Wind Energy Center to Bloomer and Crystal Townships in southeastern Montcalm County, as well as Ronald and North Plains Townships, which are in northeastern Ionia County.
All of those townships have no zoning, with the exception of Bloomer Township. They do have a wind energy ordinance they created a few years ago. However, even if a township is unzoned, they still can create regulations to give them some say in the matter when it comes to renewable energy projects.
DT: Crystal Township is one community where NextEra wants to put up wind turbines. Crystal Township Supervisor Curt McCracken has also personally signed a lease with NextEra for 850 acres of his own land. You attended a township board meeting Wednesday night. What else did you learn about the project?
EW: Crystal Township is unique in Montcalm County. It's an unzoned township, and there's a lot of farming land in the township, but it's also home to Crystal Lake, which is the biggest lake in Montcalm County. It's a beautiful lake. Crystal in general is a very touristy area, especially in the summertime. It draws a lot of people in. So the scenic views are a big draw.
So yeah, a lot of residents at the township board meeting had questions about, is the township board going to try to create any sort of ordinance or regulations to deal with this proposal by NextEra to bring wind turbines into the township? And the township board didn't seem too interested in this question when residents brought it up. There was one trustee who said, I think we should probably look into it just to protect the residents. But basically, no action was taken last night, despite a lot of questions from residents.
DT: In the Daily News, you have reported that NextEra has filed nearly 60 land leases since October. How much do landowners stand to make if they sign up and the project comes together?
EW: I was able to get ahold of a copy of the lease that NextEra is circulating in the community. NextEra will pay $29,000 per wind turbine per year, as well as $10,000 per turbine for the construction of it. And then there's also a variety of other incentives that go along with it. So you can definitely see the appeal for farmers, even as the industry of farming has been struggling in recent years. And also, farmers have mentioned they have some land that might not be ideal for farming, and they're looking for other ways to make some money off of that. So, enter wind and solar.
Editor's note: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can listen to the full conversation near the top of this page.
Further reading: ‘Wind Energy Center’? NextEra Energy planning wind turbine project for portions of Montcalm, Ionia counties by Elisabeth Waldon for The Daily News
