By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland Township Board is calling on Ottawa County commissioners to join them in opposing the proposed Silver Maple solar project.
The board on July 21 unanimously approved sending a letter to the county board, encouraging the county to enter the case now pending before the Michigan Public Service Commission for Silver Maple as an intervenor. All seven board members signed the letter after the meeting.
“While opinions on energy policy may differ, we can all agree that local governments are best positioned to make decisions on matters of local control,” the letter states. “This concept of local control and decision making is fundamental to our system of government and reflects the long-established principle that decisions affecting a community should be made by the elected officials who know that community best.”
The letter further goes on to state that “by intervening, the Commission would demonstrate its commitment to protecting local control and decision making and ensure that the voices of Ottawa County residents are heard on this important matter.”
“It doesn’t matter if they love solar, hate solar, love wind, hate wind,” Township Manager Josh Eggleston said. “The idea is that it is (the county’s) right to be an intervenor in the case, a party in the case.”
The possibility of the county joining Zeeland and Jamestown townships as an intervenor in the Silver Maple case arose out of a May ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
In that case, the justices ruled all governmental units where an energy facility is proposed, including counties, may seek status as an intervenor before the MPSC. The commission had issued an order in October 2024 saying that only local governmental units with zoning jurisdiction, such as townships, could qualify as affected local units for purposes of intervening in opposition to any solar, wind or battery energy storage project.
Zeeland Record
The Zeeland Township Board is calling on Ottawa County commissioners to join them in opposing the proposed Silver Maple solar project.
The board on July 21 unanimously approved sending a letter to the county board, encouraging the county to enter the case now pending before the Michigan Public Service Commission for Silver Maple as an intervenor. All seven board members signed the letter after the meeting.
“While opinions on energy policy may differ, we can all agree that local governments are best positioned to make decisions on matters of local control,” the letter states. “This concept of local control and decision making is fundamental to our system of government and reflects the long-established principle that decisions affecting a community should be made by the elected officials who know that community best.”
The letter further goes on to state that “by intervening, the Commission would demonstrate its commitment to protecting local control and decision making and ensure that the voices of Ottawa County residents are heard on this important matter.”
“It doesn’t matter if they love solar, hate solar, love wind, hate wind,” Township Manager Josh Eggleston said. “The idea is that it is (the county’s) right to be an intervenor in the case, a party in the case.”
The possibility of the county joining Zeeland and Jamestown townships as an intervenor in the Silver Maple case arose out of a May ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals.
In that case, the justices ruled all governmental units where an energy facility is proposed, including counties, may seek status as an intervenor before the MPSC. The commission had issued an order in October 2024 saying that only local governmental units with zoning jurisdiction, such as townships, could qualify as affected local units for purposes of intervening in opposition to any solar, wind or battery energy storage project.
(Photo by Greg Chandler)
RWE filed an application with the MPSC in early April seeking approval of Silver Maple. The company secured leases on 52 parcels totaling 1,914 acres of farmland, about 60 percent of it in Zeeland Township. The company’s application says the project would disturb 1,431 acres of land and be built on 1,127 acres of fenced-in property.
However, the application was suspended earlier this month at RWE’s request, so its legal team could evaluate the impact of the Court of Appeals ruling. The company also agreed to waive a one-year deadline from the time of the project application for the MPSC to decide whether to approve Silver Maple.
“We have no indication from the (administrative law judge) when that pause will be lifted,” township special legal counsel David Eberle said.
Project opponents urged county commissioners at their meeting Tuesday night to enter the Silver Maple case as an intervenor. In a statement emailed to the Zeeland Record prior to that meeting, county board Chairman Josh Brugger of Grand Haven wrote that if RWE chooses to re-engage with its application and if the appeals court ruling stands, “I do anticipate that the full board will weigh in on the matter.”
“While I cannot speak for the entire board, I do sense that when the time comes, there will be many members who will be looking for ways to support the position of the communities that will be directly impacted,” Brugger wrote.
Zeeland Township on July 7 filed suit in Ottawa County Circuit Court against Silver Maple PV, LLC, RWE Americas Services, LLC and RWE Solar Development, LLC, alleging Public Act 233 is unconstitutional.
The suit alleges PA 233 “preempts local control over the regulation of wind, solar and energy storage facilities by infringing on certain rights that the Michigan Constitution reserves to local governments.” It argues the developer needs a franchise approval from the township before being allowed to use township roads, alleys or public places to transport wires, poles or other equipment needed to build Silver Maple.
No hearing dates have been set yet in that lawsuit, according to court records.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Patricia Smallegan Trust and other members of the Smallegan family have called for RWE’s application to be tossed out because the developer did not meet with the county, or even offer to meet with the chair of the county board beforehand. The Smallegan trust and members of the Smallegan family are being sued by RWE on allegations they signed leases for the developer to have access to their property, only to be blocked in accessing the property.
A motion hearing in the lawsuit against the Smallegans has been set for Sept. 18 before Ottawa County Circuit Judge Jon Hulsing, court records show.
The township’s legal expenses for fighting Silver Maple continue to grow. In a separate action July 21, the board unanimously approved transferring another $100,000 out of the general fund budget to a solar intervenor fund that was set up to contest the project. As of June 30, the township had paid the Bloom Sluggett law firm $126,662 in legal fees tied to fighting Silver Maple, Township Treasurer Melissa Veldheer said.
The new transfer brings to $225,000 in operating fund transfers that have been approved by the Township Board to the solar intervenor fund, on top of a $75,000 intervenor payment made by RWE to the township that was required under PA 233.
The board on July 21 also approved a resolution asserting local control over planning and zoning decisions. Eberle explained that there are additional issues where local control of land use decisions is under threat in Lansing.
“There’s a number of current bills pending, specifically housing, that would largely preempt local decision making in the zoning context,” Eberle said.
The resolution “urges the Michigan Legislature to preserve and protect the authority of local governments to make planning and zoning decisions that reflect the unique needs, priorities and long-term interests of their communities.”
However, the application was suspended earlier this month at RWE’s request, so its legal team could evaluate the impact of the Court of Appeals ruling. The company also agreed to waive a one-year deadline from the time of the project application for the MPSC to decide whether to approve Silver Maple.
“We have no indication from the (administrative law judge) when that pause will be lifted,” township special legal counsel David Eberle said.
Project opponents urged county commissioners at their meeting Tuesday night to enter the Silver Maple case as an intervenor. In a statement emailed to the Zeeland Record prior to that meeting, county board Chairman Josh Brugger of Grand Haven wrote that if RWE chooses to re-engage with its application and if the appeals court ruling stands, “I do anticipate that the full board will weigh in on the matter.”
“While I cannot speak for the entire board, I do sense that when the time comes, there will be many members who will be looking for ways to support the position of the communities that will be directly impacted,” Brugger wrote.
Zeeland Township on July 7 filed suit in Ottawa County Circuit Court against Silver Maple PV, LLC, RWE Americas Services, LLC and RWE Solar Development, LLC, alleging Public Act 233 is unconstitutional.
The suit alleges PA 233 “preempts local control over the regulation of wind, solar and energy storage facilities by infringing on certain rights that the Michigan Constitution reserves to local governments.” It argues the developer needs a franchise approval from the township before being allowed to use township roads, alleys or public places to transport wires, poles or other equipment needed to build Silver Maple.
No hearing dates have been set yet in that lawsuit, according to court records.
Meanwhile, representatives of the Patricia Smallegan Trust and other members of the Smallegan family have called for RWE’s application to be tossed out because the developer did not meet with the county, or even offer to meet with the chair of the county board beforehand. The Smallegan trust and members of the Smallegan family are being sued by RWE on allegations they signed leases for the developer to have access to their property, only to be blocked in accessing the property.
A motion hearing in the lawsuit against the Smallegans has been set for Sept. 18 before Ottawa County Circuit Judge Jon Hulsing, court records show.
The township’s legal expenses for fighting Silver Maple continue to grow. In a separate action July 21, the board unanimously approved transferring another $100,000 out of the general fund budget to a solar intervenor fund that was set up to contest the project. As of June 30, the township had paid the Bloom Sluggett law firm $126,662 in legal fees tied to fighting Silver Maple, Township Treasurer Melissa Veldheer said.
The new transfer brings to $225,000 in operating fund transfers that have been approved by the Township Board to the solar intervenor fund, on top of a $75,000 intervenor payment made by RWE to the township that was required under PA 233.
The board on July 21 also approved a resolution asserting local control over planning and zoning decisions. Eberle explained that there are additional issues where local control of land use decisions is under threat in Lansing.
“There’s a number of current bills pending, specifically housing, that would largely preempt local decision making in the zoning context,” Eberle said.
The resolution “urges the Michigan Legislature to preserve and protect the authority of local governments to make planning and zoning decisions that reflect the unique needs, priorities and long-term interests of their communities.”
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