Local government coalition sues to stop Public Service Commission siting order

A coalition of 79 townships and counties has sued the Michigan Public Service Commission in the state Court of Appeals, seeking to stop it from overriding local control of large-scale wind and solar energy projects.

The motion for a preliminary injunction, filed Oct. 22, 2024, aims to block an Oct. 10 order. The order, the petition alleges, will usurp local control over large-scale renewable energy projects.

Local governments involved in the coalition want to see the order paused while an appeal against the commission filed Nov. 8 is adjudicated. The conflict between locals and the state developed after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed into law Public Act 233 of 2023, which changed the balance of power between state and local governments.

Before PA 233, local governments regulated the scope of renewable energy projects based on community needs and support. The law removed local governments’ power to decide whether to allow large renewable energy sites such as solar fields and wind turbine arrays.

The law firm Foster, Swift, Collins and Smith represents the coalition. “The appeal challenges the MPSC’s order, which attempts to unlawfully strip local governments of their authority to regulate renewable energy projects within their communities,” the firm said in a press release.

“The October 10th MPSC decision overrides local ordinances and zoning regulations, threatening to undermine the ability of municipalities to safeguard their residents and preserve the character of their communities in the face of rapidly expanding renewable energy development,” the press release continued. “The MPSC’s ruling is viewed by many local leaders as a direct encroachment on home rule and an attempt to centralize power at the state level, disregarding the preferences and concerns of local communities.”

Foster, Swift, Collins, and Smith did not respond to an email from Michigan Capitol Confidential. But Michael Homier, chair of the Foster Swift Municipal Practice Group, talked about the issue with Michigan Farm News.

“We are deeply concerned that the MPSC’s ruling undermines the democratic process by removing the voices of local residents and local officials in decisions that directly impact their communities,” Homier said.

Local governments have a longstanding responsibility to ensure that developments align with their unique priorities, Homier told Farm News.

State officials have not lived up to the promises of the law’s backers, a local official told Michigan Capitol Confidential. “Proponents of PA233 repeatedly assured us that local units of government would have a significant voice in the siting of wind, solar and battery energy storage projects if they so choose,” Kevon Martis, a Lenawee County commissioner, told CapCon in an email.

Martis said many townships, including in his own district, took the state at its word and adopted Compatible Renewable Energy Ordinances.

“Now, just weeks before the law takes effect, and without adequate time to make further amendments to local zoning regulations, the MPSC has ripped the rug out from under the local units’ the Democratic legislators assured us they were protecting.”

Matt Helms, public information office at the MPSC, told CapCon in an email that the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

(Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that Lenawee County does not have nearly 300 wind turbines.)