During the Thursday, April 5 meeting of the Chesaning Township Board, a couple of citizens voiced their concerns about industrial windmills and asked the board to begin working on a windmill ordinance.

Zoning/Planning Michigan

The planning board decided that the sound level to the nearest nonparticipating property line must not exceed 45 decibels. Planning board members haggled over the minimum setback for non-participating parties; settling on 325 percent of turbine height. They set the maximum commercial turbine height at 500 feet; with no interference of television, radio or cell phone service.

Zoning/Planning Michigan

UPPER THUMB — Developing NextEra Wind Energy Resources’ Pegasus Wind Energy Center farm is on hold until federal regulations are met.

General Michigan

Details revealed during ‘community outreach’ LAPEER — DTE Energy Co. officials say a planned wind farm in northern Lapeer County could carry a price tag of up to $300 million, and that the number of people signing on to be involved has grown “substantially.”

General Michigan

State’s renewable mandate also bringing hundreds of new turbine towers

Zoning/Planning Michigan

While the year-long extension of a moratorium on wind energy passed unanimously at Tuesday’s Huron County Board of Commissioners meeting, the board rejected a motion to investigate two county planners.

Zoning/Planning Michigan

The Huron County Planning Commission has recommended the board of commissioners ban wind energy development for another year in the 16 county-zoned townships. The Huron County Board of Commissioners will vote Tuesday morning whether to approve the moratorium.

General Michigan

Commissioners – along with as many as 200 attendees – listened as, one-by-one, concerned citizens shared their thoughts, fears and hopes regarding wind energy farms in the county. Planners are considering whether to recommend six changes to an ordinance already amended last year.

General Michigan

The Algansee Township board became the latest to adopt a two year moratorium on wind turbines and solar farms; or until it can refine its ordinances pending a review by consultants.

General Michigan

The L’Anse Township Planning Commission hosted a public forum on Thursday featuring a presentation by Kevon Martis, who spoke with community members about the wind farm proposed by the Renewable Energy Systems (RES) Group.

General Michigan

CARO, MI -- NextEra Energy is one step closer to building its third wind farm in Tuscola County and its fourth in the state.

General Michigan

“If someone got a judgment that windmills contributed to some adverse health effects people suffered, I would think that would be a pretty significant ruling,” said Ross Hammersley, a Traverse City attorney with Olson, Bzdok & Howard who specializes in environmental and real estate law. Hammersley, who is not involved in the case, reviewed some of the court filings for Midwest Energy News.

Impact on People Legal Michigan

BARAGA TOWNSHIP — The Township Board appointed Susan Durham as a new member of the planning commission at the meeting on Tuesday evening.

General Michigan

BAD AXE -- Huron County planners are frowning upon the use of the term "wind park" by wind developers.

General Michigan

After residents and officials spent several years debating whether or not wind turbines are good for the county, voters turned down additional development in Sherman, Sigel, Sand Beach, Lincoln, Dwight and Bloomfield townships in May. The referendums for wind energy overlay zones proposed by NextEra Energy Resources and DTE Energy failed in county-zoned municipalities by a 2 to 1 margin.

General Michigan

On Saturday morning, the Juniata Township Planning Commission planned a Public Hearing for Special Land Use Permits (SLUP) for the Pegasus Wind Center. The meeting was to be held in a tent outside in the snowy winter weather at 9am with two tall propane heaters on the grass in the center of the tent. 

General Michigan

Some were upset the commission decided to hold the hearing in a tent on a cold and snowy December day and speculated it was done to diminish the turnout.

General Michigan

Several Garden Peninsula residents attended the commission’s meeting to share their thoughts on the plans. Among them were people who had issues with the proposed placements of some of Heritage’s new wind turbines — and the impact turbine setbacks could have on their own properties. “I think you need to revisit your setback requirements,” Fairbanks Township resident Larry Kelly said.

Zoning/Planning Michigan

BURNSIDE TWP. — Officials at DTE Energy claim proposed amendments to Burnside Township’s wind ordinance “indicate a bias against wind energy development,” and are restrictive enough to exclude the 499- foot industrial machines “entirely from the township.”

Zoning/Planning Michigan

A federal judge recently dealt a blow to big wind development in a Tuscola County township. A subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources sued Almer Township in U.S. District Court in February alleging that the township's Board of Trustees had systematically tried to prevent the development of a wind farm.

Legal Michigan