Richland Township residents filled the cafeteria of Gull Lake Middle School until after 9 p.m. on Wednesday during the conclusion of a public hearing for the Liberty Farms Solar project proposed by Consumers Energy.
The project would cover over 2,200 acres of land in Richland Township — much of which is considered usable farmland.
The Richland Township Planning Commission is tasked with deciding whether to approve special use permits for the solar project. The public hearing that needed to take place before deliberations could begin stretched across two meetings.
Many opponents also spoke at a meeting that happened in-between but was not technically part of the hearing — though officials had intended it to be.
Wednesday's meeting finally saw the hearing come to a close after nearly three hours of spirited public comment.
A lively meeting
At one point, Richland resident Brian McGee had the crowd on its feet clapping and chanting in a show of opposition to the project.
“And the next meeting we need a thousand strong! The power of the people. This is what it’s all about," McGee said.
Richland Township residents filled the cafeteria of Gull Lake Middle School to nearly standing room only, with the vast majority of the crowd in opposition to the project.
Jonathan Current with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 131 of Kalamazoo was the only person to speak in favor of the project. But he seemed to cut his remarks short after the crowd continued to boo him.
"These solar fields do provide opportunity. They do provide us electrical infrastructure," Current said. "Respectfully, I will say that I would like you to consider how our communities can build for a future where we can thrive and have the infrastructure we need to build for the next century."
Current said the solar project would create more local jobs for electrical workers.
"We work in natural gas plants. We work in coal factories. We work in solar fields. We work at nuclear plants — we work everywhere they push electrons. If you don't want to build solar fields, then you have to decide what you do want to build," Current said.
"Nuclear," many people in the crowd yelled out in response.
The list of reasons that residents gave for opposing the project was very long, and arguments against the solar panels ranged from unsubstantiated claims of chemical leaching to negative impacts on nearby livestock, electromagnetic fields and more.
“There are valid reasons to be concerned about the land disturbance and use impacts, impacts on soil integrity, water and air resources, impacts on vegetation, wildlife and their habitat, and the potential impacts from hazardous materials," said Richland resident Robin McIntosh.
Many speakers focused on what they called "toxic materials" in the panels and spoke about their fears of those materials leaking into the environment.
The Sierra Club considers claims that solar panels are toxic and pose a threat to human health false — they say chemical leaching doesn't occur when solar panels are properly maintained and recycled.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, some solar panels are considered hazardous waste when recycling because of compounds like lead and cadmium, but there are specific procedures for recycling them.
Consumers Energy's application for the special use permit required them to show a full decommissioning plan and proof of required capital to fulfill the decommissioning process.
Many speakers said they didn't want views of solar panels outside their houses and spoke about their fears that a large solar project would lead to property devaluation. A large portion of the comments focused on the loss of usable farmland in the county.
"Does anyone drive by these fields and say 'what a beautiful view' or 'I'd love to have a home bordering those beautiful panels'," one resident said.
"I do not want this in our backyard and I don't think anybody else here does," said resident Jennifer Hawk.
Conversations with Consumers?
Throughout the hearing, several speakers tried to address the Consumers Energy representatives directly and ask questions.
"We are committed to following the process, going through the process that Richland Township has put forward. We appreciate the public comment, and we are interested in working with the community to be able to site this project here," Consumers Energy director of project development Nate Washburn said after the meeting.
Washburn said they are open to all feedback from the community and welcome any questions that community members have.
"We have actually sent out an email to all the Richland Township residents offering a one-on-one conversation. So, anyone that is interested — we would love to meet with them, talk with them about their concerns about the project and give them more information," Washburn said.
Comments stretched on until 9:20 p.m., when the hearing was formally closed. Commission chair Tim Vander Muelen thanked the residents for being respectful and sharing their input, and said people should expect a long deliberations process.
"I think a conservative estimate is is probably three to four months of deliberation before the planning commission will be at a place to make a decision," said Township Supervisor Bear Priest.
The commission said it will announce the date, time and location for the next planning commission meeting as soon as possible.
