(WXYZ) — Erin Hamilton, a Livingston County resident, is trying to stop utility companies from building solar panels on farmland.
She said she’s concerned about environmental impact. On the other side of this issue, at least one utility company tells 7 Action News those concerns are unfounded.
As the founder of Michigan Citizens for the Protection of Farmland, Hamilton spearheaded a ballot initiative to try and get the issue on the statewide ballot in 2024 for voters to decide.
Voters would decide whether utility companies like DTE and Consumers Energy can approach private land owners to install solar panels en masse.
“There are different chemicals that can be leached into the ground. The anchoring creates different kinds of damage to the drainage system,” she explained.
Hamilton also said the solar panel inverters are loud.
“That means sending off the wildlife. It creates a lot of disruption in the ecosystem," she said.
Before Hamilton can start collecting petition signatures, the State Board of Canvassers has to approve the petition language. The board is scheduled to discuss the proposal at its meeting in Lansing this Friday, April 28th.
7 Action News reached out to DTE and Consumers Energy for comment.
Consumers Energy media spokesperson Josh Paciorek explained, “The ballot initiative is really complex, and it’s in the really early stages. So, we’ll need more time to review and look at it, but what I will say is that consumers energy believes that solar energy is going to be center point of Michigan’s clean energy future.”
Last year, Paciorek said the company approved closing its coal plants by 2025 and building 8,000 megawatts of solar by 2040.
“There’s not going to be any harmful chemicals going into the ground. It won’t impact wildlife or anything like that," he said.
Hamilton said, “I would love to know who’s doing their environmental impact studies.”
She said she’d like to see utility companies look at commercial and industrial zones and rooftops in those areas, as opposed to agricultural communities.
7 Action News reached out to DTE for comment as well. The company said the following in a statement.
“As Michigan’s largest producer of and investor in renewable energy, DTE Energy is committed to robust growth within its renewable energy portfolio as part of its plan to transition Michigan to cleaner sources of energy. This includes continued investment in solar, which is now among the most affordable generation sources. DTE plans to add approximately 1,000 megawatts of new renewable energy annually through 2042, or 15,000 megawatts, which is enough clean energy to power more than 4 million homes.
In addition to bringing more clean energy to the grid and supporting Michigan’s overall decarbonization goals, these projects help strengthen our economy by creating and sustaining jobs and by bringing millions of dollars in additional tax revenue to the communities that host this infrastructure.”
Recent news related to the growth of DTE’s renewable energy portfolio:
In 2022, DTE closed that largest two renewable energy purchases through a utility ever in the U.S. for Ford Motor Company [skrift.meltwater.io] and Stellantis [skrift.meltwater.io]. These solar energy purchases total more than 1,050 megawatts.
In November, 2022, DTE announced plans to exit coal by 2035 and add 15,000 megawatts of new renewable energy by 2042 [skrift.meltwater.io].
On April 18, 2023, DTE announced the commissioning of Meridian Wind Park [skrift.meltwater.io], now the largest wind park in Michigan.
