- Carlee Knot with the Michigan Environment Council says Public Act 233 is meant to help the state use clean energy by 2040.
- Peter Psarouthakis, along with some Clinton County residents, are pushing back against the law, fighting for local control.
- The county is in a joint lawsuit with 70 over municipalities across Michigan.
Peter Psarouthakis along with other neighbors in Clinton County are fighting for their local voice in clean energy.
"They favor local control rather than the state running it," Psarouthakis said.
The community doesn't have a problem with solar panels or wind turbines in their neighbor's backyards.
"They're not in favor for large scale commercial solar," Psarouthakis said.
Large scale renewable energy sources need large scale land.
About 209,000 acres to be exact according to Michigan Public Service Commission or MPSC chair Dan Scripps, leaving neighbors in areas like Clinton County worried.
"Mostly concerned about losing prime agricultural land and we're mostly an agricultural area," Psarouthakis said.
The communities have said no to some large developments.
"We have a little bit more of a stricter ordinance in place currently for solar and wind," Psarouthakis said.
But now, MPSC can overrule them under a new law that went into effect November 29th.
"It's to help meet that goal and make it so utility companies are better able to build out their renewable resources," Knott said.
Carlee Knott with the Michigan Environmental Council says utility companies are having trouble meeting Governor Gretchen Whitmer's goal to have 60% of the state's energy to be clean by 2040 because local counties are saying no.
"If they are running into a lot of issues on the local level with communities that don't want renewable energy this is kind of a backup solution to have a state process in place," Knott said.
But to residents it's about so much more.
"Their say has been taken away. They're very frustrated," Psarouthakis said.
So they're fighting back.
"There is legal action taking place by a law firm on behalf of many of the counties including ours that is challenging some of the rule making authority the state has introduced," Psarouthakis said.
The lawsuit includes over 70 municipalities across Michigan challenging the new law.
While the law is being challgenged, Psarouthakis says it's now on the state to protect its neighbors.
"If the companies that want to work around us and want to go to the state route then it's on the state if anything bad happens," Psarouthakis said.
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