The Berrien County Board of Commissioners will hear from an MSU Extension expert next week on solar farms and how communities should zone for them. Speaking Thursday, County Administrator Brian Dissette said he’s been briefed on the need for townships to prepare for green energy projects as utilities expand their use of them.
At the meeting that we sat at, AEP talked about the fact that they are attempting to purchase solar leases,” Dissette said. “This is something that is very much hitting the the local units, and if you have a few minutes to call your supervisors, it really is worth their time.”
Commissioner Julie Wuerfel said local governments and the property owners who are approached about hosting solar arrays should be well informed.
“They’re willing to pay farmers a lot of money to put these on, but farmers also need to understand their value just went up,” Wuerfel said. “Their taxes are going up, everything is going up. So, you just need to understand all aspects of it as you get into it.”
Dissette said local townships should be prepared, and MSU Extension will show commissioners a model ordinance to govern solar farms at next week’s presentation. This discussion came just about a week after Lincoln Township Trustees held a first reading on a moratorium on green energy projects while their planners create an ordinance to govern them.
