States with big climate goals strip local power to block green projects
More than a dozen states have given themselves the power to override local zoning restrictions that block large-scale renewable energy projects
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and JOHN HANNA
Published - Jan 14, 2024, 12:15 AM ET
Last Updated - Jan 14, 2024, 12:15 AM EST
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Clean energy developers had planned a 75-turbine wind farm in mid-Michigan’s Montcalm County before local voters shot down the idea in 2022 and recalled seven local officials who had supported it.
About 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast, Clara Ostrander in Monroe County found herself at the center of a similar conflict as rising medical costs forced her and her husband to consider selling land her family has owned for 150 years.
Leasing a parcel to an incoming solar farm could save the property, but neighboring residents complained so vehemently that Ostrander said the township changed its zoning to block the project.
“There are people in this township I will never, ever speak to again,” she said.
