NorthStar Clean Energy officially opened the Hart Solar Farm with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, Oct. 8. Nearly 75 stakeholders, partners and community members were in attendance as representatives of NorthStar Clean Energy, Executive Energy Services, Michigan Public Power Agency and Oakland County, Michigan, celebrated this milestone.
“Hart Solar happened through the collaboration and commitment of hundreds of people of Michigan: from several organizations, including customers to buy the renewable energy; landowners to allow the project to use the land; communities to host the project; agencies to permit the construction; and partners to permit, engineer, build, manage and facilitate the completion and operation of the project,” Pete Lundquist of NorthStar Energy said. “It also created jobs, brought investments into the region through partnerships with contractors, suppliers and skilled workers, many of whom were local to the area.”
“The 120 megawatt utility-scale facility will provide clean electricity to a diverse group of Michigan energy customers through long-term purchase agreements with Executive Energy Services and the Michigan Public Power Agency,” a press release read. “The benefits of the project extend into the local community, with Hart Township receiving roughly $600,000 through the state’s Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Renewables Ready Communities Award program. In addition, the CMS Energy Foundation of Jackson, Michigan, also granted $100,000 to the Lakeshore Food Club and the newly established Regional Food Hub in Hart.”
“The project got its start nearly nine years ago,” said Hart Township Supervisor Abram Kurzer. I got on the planning commission about that time, and the township was already working on it. They were in the early stages and making decisions about zoning.”
Kurzer sees several positives of the project that he wishes to draw attention to.
The first plus, according to Kurzer, is the Renewables Ready Communities Award the township received. As a result of this $600,000 award, the township is in the process of updating two very important township documents - their master plan, which will enable them to get more grants in the future, and a rewrite of their current zoning ordinances.
The second plus Kurzer said is the increase in the tax base that the solar farm brings to the township. “Farmland gets taxed at a much lower rate. It doesn’t typically have personal property on it that can be taxed. With the solar project, all of the infrastructure and equipment that is installed is now considered personal property and gets taxed at a higher rate. We were given two options when it came to the new tax rate. Either receive the actual personal property rate annually, or receive an annual payment in lieu of taxes. The township chose the latter and for the next half dozen years or so will receive $180,000 to $200,000 in additional tax revenue. In the years following, as the solar farm equipment depreciates, that amount will gradually decrease,” Kurzer explained.
A third plus that Kurzer shared is how the solar project will help the landowners. “It hit me early on (that) all these landowners are aging, with no one in line to take over. The landowners are receiving a huge benefit for the next 25 years, not only financially, but they won’t have to worry about farming the land.”
Personally, Kurzer sees an additional benefit. He admits he’s gotten a lot of pushback from people about what the solar panels have done to the landscape. Kurzer agrees he doesn’t necessarily like looking at them either, but adds, “When the fields were farmed, fertilizer and chemicals had their effect on the land as well. People just didn’t see it. Now the land can sit fallow for the next 25 years and recover.”
Kurzer also mentioned that because construction of the new facility was hard on local roads, portions of 88th and 94th Avenues, as well as Fox and Taylor Roads, have all received much-needed surface improvements, paid for by the solar project.
At the end of his remarks last Thursday, Lundquist said, “We are especially grateful to the township of Hart, Oceana County officials and local stakeholders in the Hart community and our partners for their support through the construction process. Their collaboration was critical to the success of the project.”
Hart Township has always and will continue to offer the community the opportunity to become more involved in local government. Monthly township meetings are held the second Wednesday of every month at 7:30 p.m.
The Hart Township board of directors includes Kurzer, Treasurer Todd Metzler, Clerk Steve Freed, Trustees Doug Fuehring and Lois Alvesteffer-Simmons. The Township Assessor is Daniel Kirwin and Township Zoning Administrator is Sara Bizon. Planning Commission members include Bizon, Fuehring, Dick Huntington, Kurzer, Dale Routley and Kathy Walton. The township office located at 3437 W. Polk Rd. is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and managed by Administrative Assistant Carol Tariske.
More information is available at harttownship.org.
