The Lakeside Solar energy facility project will be the subject of a public hearing Oct. 21 at NBC Middle School in Montague, where the White River Township planning commission will solicit feedback regarding the project.
Residents have provided feedback at township board meetings since the 2022 announcement of the project, with most residents speaking in opposition to the facility, though some have also spoken in favor. Those in favor have generally focused on the need to provide renewable energy in the face of climate change as well as on the rights of the landowners who signed lease agreements with Lakeside Solar, while those against have shared, among other concerns, worries about preserving local farmland and the pastoral charm of the township.
The company, a subsidiary of Geronimo Power, has submitted its application for a special use permit to the township and recently posted that application to its project website. The application calls for 1,575 acres of land to be used, utilizing 44 parcels, for which the company has entered into lease agreements with the parcels' owners (it said it has a purchase option on one of the parcels). Those agreements were originally executed in 2019 and, according to the application, were renewed earlier this year. The application noted the project's anticipated life cycle could be as many as 35 years before decommissioning of equipment.
The company also said it's been in contact with the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners since 2024 to provide updates, as well as being in contact with several local entities, such as the Montague school district, Montague FFA, the Chemours Environmental Impact Committee and the Muskegon Chamber of Commerce.
The boundaries of the project extend as far south as Old Channel Trail Golf Course and as far north as Meinert Park Road. Lamos Road, which is the dividing line between White River and Montague townships, is the easternmost boundary of the project.
Lakeside Solar said it anticipates acquiring all other necessary permits for the project by the third quarter of 2027 - the application said it has met with the Muskegon County drain, water and road commissions to determine which permits are necessary and that it anticipates needing permits from the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) - and all necessary equipment by the fourth quarter. Construction would begin late in 2027 with operations scheduled to begin by late 2029.
As it has previously, the company stated in the application that it could not consider the township's renewable energy district, enacted last fall and placed mostly on Chemours land, due to several factors. Among the reasons enumerated in the application are that insurance costs for the area would be prohibitively high due to the environmental history of the area, that 200 acres of trees would need to be cleared out to permit construction, that the 20 megawatts a project could generate on that land would not make such a project viable, and that the corrective measures currently being undertaken in the area do not allow the soil evaluation methods that would be necessary for construction.
The company claimed in its application, citing multiple studies, that property values are not adversely affected by the presence of nearby solar panels. Several township residents have stated at board meetings since the project was first announced that they believe their property values will decrease due to the project.
Lakeside Solar said in the application that the design of the facility minimizes the amount of disturbance necessary to trees in the area and that, per the township's ordinance, where necessary, a "visual landscape buffer" of trees and shrubs will be used to screen the project from homes.
The application lists several ways in which the project will aim not to disturb the "prime farmland" on which the facility will operate, including maintaining the existing topography as much as possible and not using permanent mounts for the solar panels.
The full application is available for viewing at https://geronimopower.com/in-d....
