DNR uproots plan to lease forest for solar facility

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has suspended a plan to let a private firm convert 420 acres of trees near Gaylord to a solar farm after the project made national news.

Criticism of the project unfolded in early January as lawmakers and environmental groups called for more transparency and oversight of DNR operations.

RWE Clean Energy had planned to install a solar facility, but it withdrew its plan to use state land after facing opposition from environmental groups, according to Michigan Public Radio.

The plan also faced opposition from some legislators. Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen, told Michigan Capitol Confidential that lawmakers were upset they found out about the DNR’s plans from the media. The Legislature did not conduct oversight of administrative agencies during the last two years, he said.

State law requires the department to submit a forest management plan to the Legislature, Roth said.

The DNR violated its own scientific study, according to Roth, when it began to cut down the forest on the state’s 420 acres in Gaylord. A DNR study concluded that cutting down trees to make way for solar panels increases carbon emissions, Roth told CapCon, adding that the plan specifically stated not to remove trees and replace them with solar panels. Roth couldn’t provide the survey and the Department Natural Resources did not respond to a request for a copy of it.

Roth also criticized the DNR’s plans for for the money it would receive from the lease. The department uses money from oil and natural gas profits for parks and recreation that residents and visitors can enjoy, he told CapCon. “But instead, it planned to use the profits from the solar lease to buy more state land.”

A Harvard University study of another state supports Roth’s claim.

In Massachusetts since 2010, more than 5,000 acres of natural and working lands have been destroyed for solar development, resulting in the emission of more than half a million metric tons of carbon dioxide — more than the annual emissions of 100,000 passenger cars, according to the study “Growing Solar, Protecting Nature.”

“Every acre of forest destroyed is a huge loss for birds and other wildlife, clean air and water, natural beauty, and recreation,” Harvard and Mass Audubon wrote in the report. “But most importantly, cutting forests and developing farmlands to build solar energy doesn’t make sense for the climate: natural ecosystems and farm soils absorb 10% of Massachusetts’ greenhouse gas emissions every year.”

The state will devote no more than 4,000 acres of state-managed public lands for solar development — less than one-tenth of one percent of the DNR’s overall public land ownership, public information officer Ed Golder told CapCon in an email. The state has leased more than 350,000 acres of public lands for oil and gas development and issued more than 10,000 drilling permits, compared to two solar development leases on public lands that cover 1,324 acres, CapCon reported.

The Michigan United Conservation Club told CapCon in an email that it opposed the Gaylord development and said the department had, in this case, violated its mission.

“The Department’s mission statement is: ‘We are committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state's natural and cultural resources for current and future generations.’ Unlike other forms of development and commercial use of public lands, solar arrays are closed for recreational access for the entirety of the lease,” the group said. “The proposal violates the Department’s mission statement.”

The club also called for the department to be more transparent in its selection criteria. The DNR should not let any leases until it releases its criteria for public review and scrutiny, said the MUCC, which added that it does not reject all such plans.

RWE Clean Energy will pursue its project on nearby privately owned land, media reports indicate.

Editor’s note: Roth couldn't provide the study when asked for it by CapCon. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources did not respond initially to a request for a copy by the time this article was published. On March 19, public information officer Edward Golder sent an email to CapCon. “The DNR has not produced a scientific study such as described in the story and is not in possession of one,” he wrote.