Republished with permission from The Midwesterner
The new wind-energy project appears to pick up in west-central Michigan where Apex – another high-profile wind project, cancelled just days ago – left off. NextEra Energy, one of the world’s largest renewable energy developers, is pursuing the Ionia Wind Energy Center, having secured nearly 60 land leases in portions of Montcalm and Ionia counties, according to Waldon.
The project targets southeastern Bloomer and Crystal townships in Montcalm County, with recent leasing activity extending to northeastern North Plains and Ronald townships in Ionia County. Most of the areas are unzoned, except Bloomer Township, which has an existing wind energy ordinance, according to The Daily News.
Waldon disclosed the details of the new proposal to Michigan Public last week.
Under the proposed terms, landowners would receive $29,000 annually per turbine once operational, plus $10,000 per turbine during construction, along with other incentives. The offers have appealed to some farmers facing economic pressures or seeking income from less productive land.
Waldon told Michigan Public that Curt McCracken – Crystal Township Supervisor and farmer – has signed a lease for 850 acres of his property.
Attending the Crystal Township board meeting last week, Waldon told Michigan Public that residents had questions about creating ordinances or regulations to deal with the NextEra proposal, yet no action was taken.
“[T]he township board didn’t seem too interested in this question when residents brought it up. There was one trustee who said, ‘I think we should probably look into it just to protect the residents.’ But basically, no action was taken last night, despite a lot of questions from residents,” Waldon said.
The proposal emerges in the shadow of Apex Clean Energy’s Montcalm Wind project, which was abandoned earlier this month after nearly six years of intense local debate, recalls, referendums, and community division. Apex had aimed to place turbines across 50,000 acres in up to 11 Montcalm County townships but failed to secure sufficient contiguous land, despite agreements with about 500 landowners.
NextEra has declined to comment publicly on its plans, and no details have been released on the number of turbines, total capacity, timeline, or exact footprint.
The developments highlight ongoing tensions in rural Michigan over utility-scale renewables, balancing economic benefits against local concerns in agricultural and scenic areas near Crystal Lake.
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