Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources offered a 420-acre parcel of “less than pristine” land to a solar developer to expand a nearby project. This sparked backlash from local politicians, who called the land management department “rotten to its core,” and prompted the developer to back away from the expansion.
As solar power continues to expand rapidly across the United States, the industry is facing unprecedented scrutiny as restrictive new laws tighten and refine deployment nationwide.
In northern Michigan, a solar developer had its sights set on expanding a facility by 420 acres, which would provide enough space for about 100 megawatts of solar panels, into land managed by the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). According to Sheri McWhirter’s reporting, the DNR deemed the site ideal, describing it as “less than pristine.” The land was a mixed bag, with portions having been clear-cut and replanted with red pine seedlings, alongside existing forested sections with oil and gas wellheads, tornado damaged sections, and a high-voltage transmission line.
Image: Michigan Department of Natural Resources
The DNR framed the decision as pragmatic. Scott Whitcomb, director of the DNR’s public lands office, explained:
You could have a degraded site and it’s not close to an interconnect, or if it’s close to an interconnect, it might not be in a place where the grid can take the electrons. I would rather make the development a little bigger here and avoid creating a new development elsewhere that has those same impacts.
But not everyone saw the logic. Local politicians pounced, branding the decision as part of “radical green energy legislation.” In a fiery statement, State representatives Ken Borton and Mike Hoadley, along with State Senator Michele Hoitenga, accused the DNR of being “rotten to its core.” They claimed the agency had abandoned ethical conservation practices and was “choosing to kill wildlife so they can build solar panels.”
Barton even dragged the 1971 children’s book by Dr. Seuss, The Lorax, into the fray. “If he thought like the DNR,” Borton quipped, “he’d only be speaking for trees for as long as it took to fill his chainsaw with gas after the solar industry waved a fat wad of cash in his face.”
Whitcomb countered that Representative Borton had never voiced concerns about the gas and oil well heads scattered near his home.
Meanwhile, the Michigan Environmental Council weighed in, warning that bad-faith actors appeared to be exploiting this clash to fuel an “anti-solar firestorm.”
Following a surge of local opposition and political backlash, RWE, the developer behind the 45th Parallel Solar project, announced that it would no longer pursue plans to expand into the controversial 420-acre parcel.
Despite controversy, solar remains the most popular energy source in the U.S., even if recent polls show a dip in support among some groups. Nationwide enthusiasm for solar can obscure the complexities of local opposition. In rural areas, where pristine farmland often lies at the heart of such debates, the arrival of solar facilities can stir mixed emotions. Yet some farmers, who might otherwise align with solar skeptics, are increasingly seeing solar as a financial lifeline.
Of course, it’s not just local disputes driving the drama. Fossil fuel interests, often aligned with national GOP-backed disinformation campaigns, have mastered the art of exploiting valid community concerns about land use and environmental impacts. By injecting bad-faith arguments and misinformation into public discourse, these campaigns drain the time and resources of experts and organizations, diverting attention from genuine challenges.
The solar industry must continue to rise above the noise, embracing its great land use responsibility to site projects thoughtfully—balancing environmental stewardship, meaningful community engagement, and the urgent need for a clean energy transition.
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