MONTAGUE — Two more Michigan-based experts took their turns delivering reports about the Lakeside Solar special use permit application to the White River Township planning commission at its regular meeting Tuesday night.
The planning commission stated at the end of the meeting that it will formally vote on the special use application at a special meeting Thursday, Jan. 8 at NBC Middle School, less than a week before its Jan. 14 deadline to do so.
The commission has spent the past month hearing presentations from specialists in different fields about the application, with each reaching the conclusion that the application is incomplete and lacking in details. Tuesday's reports were delivered by principal consultant Darren Brown of K&S Engineering, who tackled the issue of the proposed solar development's sound levels. Mac Consulting Service owner Mac McClelland gave his review of the alternative site analysis Lakeside Solar published, explaining why it did not pursue the township's renewable energy overlay, comprising Chemours land, for its proposed facility.
Brown led his report by criticizing the special use application for its lack of specifics. "(It is) lacking information, lacking detail...Not taking into account the impact on the community," Brown said. "It seems like it's just there to check a box."
Brown, who is board-certified in the field by the Institute of Noise Control Engineering, said modeling inputs used in the study cited by Lakeside Solar were of concern and that there wasn't sufficient context given in the information it provided. His own research, based on available data, suggested it was likely the 129 homes that sit within 1,000 feet of the proposed facility would be affected by the sound levels it would produce. Brown said he usually recommends there be a buffer of at least that size between properties and a similar facility for sound-level reasons.
Brown did add that it was likely some people would get used to the additional sound and adapt, but suggested those wanting an idea of how they'd be affected travel to the heart of a similar facility and experience the atmosphere for themselves.
Asked about how township wildlife may be affected by the sound levels, Brown said his work focuses on human response, so he wasn't qualified to say, but guessed that most animals would be able to adapt provided the sound levels did not affect their ability to communicate.
McClelland, too, brought notable credentials to his report, including 45 years of experience and work with a brownfield authority in Grand Traverse County.
McClelland did not address Lakeside Solar's claims of it being financially impractical to construct a solar energy facility in the renewable energy district the township established last fall, but said based on the 632 acres of Chemours land that were part of the district, it's possible a facility could produce up to 95 megawatts of energy (Lakeside Solar said its proposed 1,500-plus acre facility would produce 150 megawatts). While some of the land would likely be unavailable for such a facility due to the environmental areas of concern present, the 475 acres of land that would be available, McClelland said, wouldn't be prohibitive to build on. Groundwater and soil issues in the area would not be major issues beyond requiring construction workers taking measures to avoid soil-to-skin contact, such as wearing long pants and sleeves.
McClelland added that the adjacent Occidental property having been established as a renewable energy district by Montague Township could boost the development possibilities for clean energy in the area.
Following these presentations, the commission shared economic impact studies it had found that seemed to contradict Lakeside Solar's statements that effects on home values due to nearby solar energy facilities are negligible. The commission cited a 2025 Virginia Tech study that showed sale price declines near such facilities, with the effect larger the closer to a facility the home was located. Commission chair Lauren Wackernagel said it's found that 2,205 homes, if the facility is constructed, will be located within 2.5 miles of it.
The commission also cited feedback from White Lake Fire Authority deputy chief Keith Heidelberg regarding fire hazards due to BESS buildings; Heidelberg, according to the commission, also recommended a third-party inspector be hired to provide reviews at least annually to ensure proper mitigation procedures are being followed. Jennifer Jermalowicz-Jones, principal limnologist at Restorative Lake Sciences, additionally provided feedback stating that the presumed loss of natural capital, like wildlife and farmland, that comes with the solar facility would not be aligned with the township's master plan.
Commissioner Stephen Niezgoda spoke later in the meeting and harshly criticized Geronimo's lack of response to township questions, comparing its statements implying it did not have sufficient time to do so to the large amount of documents it gave to the commission with a 120-day time limit to approve its special use application. Niezgoda quoted a November Minnesota Star Tribune article about a data center Geronimo is developing on rural farmland there - one the article states could use as much electricity as up to 1 million homes - and questioned whether the company isn't seeking to utilize the township's renewable energy overlay because it plans to do the same here. (Lakeside Solar's Kendra Harrington, who attends township meetings but rarely comments, stated later that the company has no such intention here.)
Niezgoda capped his comments by stating he does not believe Lakeside Solar is acting in good faith and does not believe it has any intentions of doing so.
Several public commenters echoed criticisms of Lakeside Solar and the special use application. One, Mary Jo Ernst, said after researching the state's Renew Michigan program that provides reimbursements for brownfield redevelopment (McClelland cited the program in his presentation), she feels the program "is a gift and an opportunity" to make renewable energy a possibility in the renewable energy district.
Another, Craig Smith, cited the several experts that have characterized the Lakeside Solar application as incomplete and rhetorically asked, "If this is the best they can do on the application, how bad will the project be?"
