There is plenty of low-value forest and fallow farmland that can be used for the small amount of wind and solar generation proposed so far. But much more land will be needed if the state is serious about achieving the Whitmer administration's goal of carbon-neutral power generation by 2040. The Public Service Commission estimates that it will require 326 square miles of windmills and solar panels, plus enormous battery warehouses and nuclear power plants. I don't know what mix of wind and solar is implied by this estimate, but to help you visualize it, 326 square miles equals a swath a mile wide between Ohio and the Straits, or 9 whole townships. Much of Michigan will be in the viewshed of these plants, which is why the Governor and the wind- and solar-power vendors were so desperate to pass the "windmill cramdown" act in the last legislature, over the objection of local governments. See Public Acts 233 and 234 of 2023. Cities, townships, and counties no longer have the ability to block energy leases through zoning and approvals. The law does not include nuclear power plants.
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