Cheboygan County is holding a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 9 to discuss a proposed 810-acre solar farm in Grant Township.
The meeting will be held at the Chateau at Black Mountain, Heritage Event Center, located at 10621 Twin Lakes Road, Cheboygan, Michigan.
EDP Renewables is applying to the Michigan Public Service Commission for approval of Northern Waters Solar Park, its proposed 810-acre solar farm, through Public Act 223. The proposed 110-megawatt solar facility would generate enough energy to power more than 30,000 homes and pay over $24 million in local taxes over its 35-year lifetime.
Not all residents are on board.
The international renewable energy company had an approved special use permit from Cheboygan County, but after a lawsuit by a group of nearby landowners, a judge vacated the permit due to unaddressed sections of the county’s ordinance. Some expect to see that pushback continue as the process moves to the state.
“Those of us who are going to have to live with it out here are not happy,” said Deb Buehner, who was part of the lawsuit to overturn the county’s special use permit.
She said she expects a high turnout at the Sept. 9 meeting, citing how the public meetings for the previous process had to be rescheduled three times due to insufficient space for residents who attended.
PA 233 grants the MPSC authority to approve large renewable energy projects, including solar projects that are 50-megawatts or larger, if the local zoning authority does not have a qualifying compatible renewable energy ordinance. That authority, challenged by a group of 79 municipalities, was largely upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals this summer, but is currently being appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court.
EDP Renewables will use the meeting to present an overview of the project and the process, followed by an opportunity for questions or comments.
“Northern Waters Solar has strong support from participating landowners and continues to move through the permitting process alongside ongoing stakeholder outreach,” said Amy Varghese, EDP Renewables’ head of communications. “As part of EDPR NA’s ongoing commitment to responsible development, we continually evaluate the layout of each project while balancing environmental, engineering, and landowner considerations and this project will ultimately comply with all appropriate standards and regulations of the MPSC.”
Varghese said the project would include planting vegetation appropriate for the local ecology that “can help improve soil health, support pollinators and other wildlife, reduce erosion, and enhance water quality while maintaining the site throughout the life of the project.”
In a fact sheet on its website, EDP Renewables lists the potential benefits of the project, including the creation of hundreds of construction jobs and multiple permanent jobs. It breaks down the estimated tax payments to different local entities. In the first year, Cheboygan Area Schools would receive an estimated $457,009, which would be a two percent increase to the current school year’s budgeted revenues. Cheboygan County would receive an estimated $672,394 to its operating fund in the first year, which would be a five percent increase to the 2026 budget’s revenue.
Buehner said she does not think the tax incentives are worth the project. She is advocating on behalf of her parents, Robert and Betty Johnson, whose property is surrounded on all sides by the proposed project.
“They are 85 and trying to live the rest of their lives peacefully on their property that they chose,” said Buehner.
Buehner said that she is not against solar energy, but believes that this is a land use issue and that industrial projects belong in industrial areas.
That sentiment came up in the county’s recent master plan community survey. Approximately a third of respondents supported the development of wind energy facilities or solar energy facilities, while more than half of the respondents did not support the development of either.
According to a press release from Cheboygan County, the county plans to have representatives at the Sept. 9 meeting “to ensure that local interests and concerns are appropriately represented throughout the state siting and permitting process.” Additionally, the county intends to apply for intervenor funding available under PA 233 to support the county’s participation in the review of the proposed project.
If the Northern Waters Solar Park is approved, construction is targeted to begin in 2028 and commercial operation in 2029.

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