MONTAGUE — Lakeside Solar recently released its "alternative site analysis" on its website explaining why the company does not consider White River Township's renewable energy district a viable site for its pending solar energy facility, supervisor Ron Bailey said during Tuesday's township board meeting.
The analysis is a required step under Public Act 233, which grants a state-appointed commission final authority over siting of renewable energy projects if a municipality's ordinances are more restrictive than the state's. The township established a renewable energy district last fall that encompassed Chemours property, and the company was required to explain why that land was not chosen for the development.
Lakeside Solar and its parent company, Geronimo Power, stated several reasons they did not believe the Chemours property would be a suitable site for their proposed project, including: "unfavorable soil conditions" for installation; that studies necessary to determine the suitability of the soil for the project have not yet been conducted and cannot be conducted because of the corrective measures the site is currently undergoing; that over 200 acres of trees would have to be removed to allow enough land for a development; prohibitive costs to insure the site; and logistical constraints that limit the energy generated by the facility to 20 megawatts were it to be built there. Geronimo has said its proposed project would generate 150 megawatts of electricity.
Bailey said he intends to get in touch with Chemours to get more information about their discussions with Lakeside Solar. The company said in its analysis that a nondisclosure agreement prevented it from sharing more about its own discussions with Chemours beyond what was in the analysis.
During public comment, the ongoing appeal from 79 Michigan townships, including White River and Montague, seeking to regain local control over renewable energy siting was addressed. Bailey said due to the difficulties of getting all the parties together at once, it will still be some time before that appeal can move forward.
The board approved increased compensation for zoning administrator Bill Schmiege by a 4-0 vote (clerk Mary Kriesel was absent). The decision to up Schmiege's pay to $10,000 annually, applying it retroactively to the April 1 start of the fiscal year, was made because of a large increase in the scope of responsibilities compared to when the position was first created and was made after consulting with other municipalities. It was not stated exactly what the compensation rate was prior to the raise, but the board said it was not much more than $4,000 per year.
Planning commission chair and deputy clerk Lauren Wackernagel shared that Williams and Works has submitted some minor updates to the township master plan after it was given to them for review. The commission will consider those changes at its next meeting and could bring it to the board for final approval soon. A survey given to residents, which saw 83 respondents, showed that most residents would like to see attention given to extending the Medbery Park bike trail.
