BINGHAM TWP. — Not wanting a new solar farm to take over about 1,600 acres in their rural community, residents flooded their township hall the evening of Jan. 21 to speak their minds before RWE submits its application to the state.
For more than an hour, 22 residents in a crowd of about 100 made clear their concerns about the proposed solar farm that would sit on both sides of U.S. 127, north and east of the city of St. Johns. The fenced-in solar panels would take over about 750 acres.
“You’re ruining our farm,” said Raquel Dietrich, who is building a home near the proposed site. “You’re telling me that you’re a good neighbor … I don’t believe a single lie that you said, and I think most of what you said has completely been lies.
“You’re telling me after my 5,000-square-foot home – my brand new 5,000-square foot home is being built – that my property value is not going to drop at all.”
Besides being concerned about property values, residents spoke out against the worth of the large project in a township of less than 3,000 residents known for its rural surroundings and questioned such matters as the project’s noise levels and decommissioning plans.
“It will be my new neighbor if this passes,” said Robert Watson, who lives on Krepps Road. “I’m opposed to this. I don’t want an eyesore setting next to my house.”
The township board will have no vote in the matter.
RWE, which is working as Walker Road Solar Farm LLC, hosted the forum as part of the pre-application process required by the Michigan Public Service Commission.
RWE is one of the largest renewable energy companies in the United States, and several RWE representatives attended Wednesday’s session, including Project Development Manager J. Kevin Cole and RWE counsel Mike Vogt.
“A big part of the meeting is we want to get your input on the project,” Cole said. “We currently have seven projects under development in Michigan. Our experience enables us to build responsibly and deliver clean affordable power while minimizing impact to the land.
“This is the Walker Road Solar Project. It will produce 150 megawatts of clean energy, which is enough to power about 28,000 homes.”
He said the company’s goal is to submit its application by spring and have the facility under construction in 2027.
“Walker Road will be virtually silent outside the fence line,” Cole said. “The project will be monitored nonstop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week from a remote operations center and local field staff will be on site.”
With decommissioning, he said RWE would remove all the equipment and restore the land. The company would be required to post financial assurance, like a bond or letter of credit, equal to the approved decommissioning cost.
Hours before the meeting, township Supervisor John Weber said the project is not a win for Bingham Township and that it promises to tear up farmland that otherwise could be used for commercial and residential development that would generate money for township services.
“It’s going to impede any further development on the M-21 corridor,” he said. “The township is not backing this. The township does not support this type of endeavor. We would rather see it stay farmland.
He’s hoping the publicity gained from the Jan. 21 forum results in state officials paying more attention to local communities.  
“We want what’s best for our community,” Weber said. “It would be nice if the state people would start listening, because I don’t think they really are.”
RWE has offices in Chicago, New York, California and Austin, Texas.
Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.

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