How much power should Michigan regulators have when they want to approve renewable energy projects over the objections of local governments?
That was the question at the center of a courtroom battle on Wednesday between state officials and a coalition of rural Michigan townships and counties that have challenged a 2023 law that empowers the Michigan Public Service Commission.
During an hourlong oral argument in Detroit, a lawyer for dozens of Michigan counties and townships told the state Court of Appeals that Michigan utility regulators unlawfully expanded their powers under a state law that allows renewable energy developers to bypass local governments when siting projects.
Attorney Michael Homier told the court that the Michigan Public Service Commission’s implementation of the law ties the hands of local governments in determining how and where wind, solar and battery projects are built.
