The Michigan Public Service Commission is preparing to issue proposed recommendations for how it will implement the state's new renewable energy permitting law.
That's as a ballot initiative to place a repeal of the law on the November ballot failed to gather enough signatures.
The law, which goes into effect in November, lets developers ask the Commission to consider and issue a siting permit for wind or solar - if the developer is unable to negotiate with a local government for a permit first.
Dan Scripps is Chair of the Commission. He said up until now, renewable energy development has too often divided communities, pressuring elected township officials to pass ordinances that essentially ban wind and solar.
Scripps hopes the law will encourage townships to work with developers, but even if that doesn't happen, he said the state process won't be a rubber stamp. The law requires the Commission to take many factors into consideration, such as the impact on farmland, and ensuring local residents have a say in the process.
"Aand hopefully that does lower the temperature and return some community-mindedness to some of these deliberations," Scripps said.
Scripps said the recommendations for the state-issued permit process have been developed after a series of workshops across the state with stakeholders, including local government officials, and renewable energy developers. The proposed recommendations will be made public in two weeks.
A group that opposes the state permitting law has said it will continue to gather signatures in the hope that the repeal ballot question can be placed on the November, 2025 ballot.
