Update: Amid backlash, solar company won’t build on Michigan state land & won’t clear 420 acres of state forest

Word of the potential lease of state land to RWE Clean Energy inspired passionate pushback from several lawmakers and social media users concerned about deforestation and wildlife habitat destruction.

Scott Whitcomb, director of Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources Office of Public Lands, said the agency shares those concerns, and that it had identified roughly 400 acres that is “not pristine habitat” in Otsego County which could be appropriate for redevelopment with the intent of using revenues from the project to purchase more acreage adjacent to existing state land in other locations.

“Our goal is certainly not to deforest Michigan, or take high-value timber out of production,” Whitcomb said. “We want the right thing in the right place.”

MLive first reported the DNR’s consideration of a lease to RWE and the agency’s plans to publish a public notice to request proposals for redevelopment this week.

Whitcomb said the roughly 400 acres is near a high-voltage electricity transmission infrastructure corridor, making it a place suitable to add energy to the power grid. He said portions of the land had recently been clear cut, portions of it were salvaged for timber after a tornado, while other portions are open fields, and part of the acreage already contains oil and gas wells.

“We think due to those land uses and close proximity (to the transmission corridor) that this might be a good place to use for energy and another place to could purchased for forest land.”

Photos from the MLive report show portions of the land is still covered by trees.

Whitcomb said the DNR frequently is approached by developers to use state land for mining, or extracting sand and gravel. He said the department evaluates those inquires to determine whether they’re “compatible” with the land a developer is asking about. He said the DNR plans to cap this type of land-use leases at 4,000 acres, because that’s roughly one-tenth of 1% of the total acreage owned by the state.

Whitcomb said the state has denied proposals on land in areas where there are significant concerns about ecological impact or the destruction of habitat for protected wildlife.

State Representative John Roth, who represents the 104th District near Traverse City, said he’s opposed to leasing state land where it could result in cutting down trees to make room for solar panel installations. He’s one of several lawmakers, including at least one Democrat, who strongly opposed leasing the Otsego County property.

“I still don’t think it’s a wise project,” Roth said. “I don’t know that we need state land for it when it’s also attached to a thousand acres of private farmland that’s going to be solar panels next to that area.”

If the DNR doesn’t receive what Whitcomb called a “viable proposal” for redeveloping the acreage into solar, the development of the Hayes Township acreage would end before it started. This may be the case, as a RWE Clean Energy spokesperson said the company no longer plans to lease state land for its solar plant.

“Ultimately, we decided to move forward with leasing property from the two private landowners for this particular project,” said RWE Senior Manager of Media and Public Relations Patricia Kakridas.

Kakridas said the 45th parallel solar project will deliver “substantial benefits” to Otsego County and Hayes Township during construction and throughout the project’s estimated 35-year lifespan, including more than $15 million in projected tax revenues, “and millions more in economic activity.”.

Roth also voiced frustration about the relationship between DNR administrators and lawmakers, saying he first learned about the potential Otsego County lease by reading the Mlive report. He said he’s requested information from the DNR about its land-use strategy and been ignored.

The Detroit News reported concerns voiced by other Republican lawmakers who issued a joint statement about the DNR’s plan to seek proposals for redeveloping the Otsego County land. “Mind-numbing decisions like this are absolute proof that the DNR is completely rotten to its core,” said state Rep. Ken Borton, who represents the Gaylord area. He was joined in the statement by Republican Rep. Mike Hoadley and State Senator Michele Hoitenga.

One Democrat also disapproved of the possibility. On the social media platform X, Democratic Rep. Mike McFall called the proposal “extremely counterproductive,” and stated concerns the plan could result in a net-increase in greenhouse gas emissions if too many trees were removed to make room for solar panels. Whitcomb disagreed with that argument.

“We think this is a climate benefit in this particular instance,” Whitcomb said. “Maybe if you were clear-cutting old growth forest or something like that, you may get into those arguments.”