LANSING, Mich. — A group from Howell is working to prevent large-scale commercial solar panel farms from being built on Michigan's agricultural farmland.
The group calls themselves Michigan Citizens for the Protection of Farmland— individual members have not yet been identified.
They are developing a ballot proposal that would prohibit utility-scale solar farms from being built or operated on any land designated at a state or local level as agricultural farmland.
"We, the undersigned citizens of Michigan, are deeply concerned about the potential environmental and economic impacts of utility-scale solar on agricultural land," the proposal reads.
"We believe that preserving Michigan's fertile farmland for food production, biodiversity, and rural communities is essential for our future well-being and prosperity."
If passed in its current state, anyone violating the act would be fined $10,000 a day.
Utility providers like Consumers Energy and DTE are investing heavily in the future of solar as they plan to transition away from fossil fuels.
READ: Consumers Energy power plants discuss plans to become coal-free by 2025
“We plan to close all of our coal plants by 2025, and then build out over 8.000 megawatts of solar by 2040,” Joshua A. Paciorek, spokesperson for Consumers Energy said Monday.
"We're big believers with solar energy, wind energy... bringing in some additional natural gas plants onto our grid to help bridge the gap between when we close our coal plants, and when we can build out the rest of our solar energy goals over the next 17 years."
Consumers Energy has launched a webpage for information about their solar goals, in an effort to begin making connections with landowners who might be interested in exploring the possibility of solar on their property.
You can visit their solar info page HERE.
