On August 27, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) granted its first-ever certificate under the state’s landmark 2023 renewable energy siting law, Public Act 233. This certificate approved Ranger Power’s 90-megawatt Acceleration Solar project, spanning three townships in Ingham County.
The fact that this is the first project permitted by the MPSC would be noteworthy all on its own, but what we found even more surprising was how the process played out. Rather than the local governments and the developer fighting through a full contested state hearing, Ranger Power and Leslie, Onondaga, and Vevay Townships proactively reached an agreement that locks in real benefits for the host communities.
But this first certificate is only half the story of how PA 233 is reshaping clean energy siting in Michigan. A deeper look reveals an even more promising trend: local permitting is working.
The expansion of the negotiating space that PA 233 created is exactly what good state siting policy is supposed to achieve. It demonstrates why Michigan’s Safety Net Model is the Siting Solutions Project’s preferred framework, one we’ve championed in our research and advocacy.
The Acceleration Solar agreement between Ranger Power and the townships delivers concrete value to the host communities, including:
- At least $2,000 per MW in host community benefit payments to the townships, a matching $2,000 per MW to Ingham County under a separate host agreement, and several hundred thousand dollars in direct community payments across the 90-MW project.
- Drain maintenance support and first responder and fire personnel training – so local services keep pace with the new development.
- A project labor agreement covering construction and maintenance work.
- Funding for the townships’ legal expenses, additional vegetative screening to limit panel visibility, stricter noise limit post-operation mitigation measures, and greater decommissioning standards.
- These include a commitment to post the full financial assurance upfront at the start of construction, remove all underground infrastructure and to restore the land to productive agricultural use – all of which goes above and beyond the letter of the law.
Construction is expected to begin in 2027, with commercial operation by 2028.
The Safety Net Model in Action
Michigan’s 2023 law closely mirrors the Safety Net Model we describe in our Renewable Energy Siting Policy Field Guide and A Win-Win Solution for Clean Energy Siting reports. Local permitting is the default permitting pathway, but when a local government won’t adopt a statewide ordinance, or denies a project outright, a developer can seek a permit from the state.
The state pathway is deliberately built to be the option of last resort. It results in a contested-case proceeding with a lengthy, strict technical review, project labor requirements, mandatory community benefits, and higher per-MW fees.
The possibility of state permitting created by the Safety Net Model is what brings local governments back to the table, but Michigan gave communities even more reason to stay and shape the outcome of the project by creating a grant program called the Renewables Ready Communities Award (RRCA). Projects permitted locally can unlock up to $5,000 per MW for the community through the program – more than double the $2,000-per-MW floor of the state pathway.
Acceleration Solar shows the model working precisely as designed. Faced with the state pathway, the townships and the developer negotiated an agreement that reflects both the community’s interests and the developer’s need to build. As we put it in the Win-Win report, the model “incentivizes both sides to negotiate a mutually beneficial agreement.”
PA 233’s Surprising Impact on Local Siting in Michigan
Since the MPSC opened its state siting process, developers have filed 12 applications with the Commission. Acceleration Solar is the first to receive a certificate, resolved not by preemption but by mutual agreement.
We expect more approvals to follow, especially as the MPSC staff gain more experience and start perfecting their own review procedures. In fact, at least five applications are currently deemed complete: a major milestone for projects in the state process.
The most unexpected outcome of PA 233 and the MPSC’s impressive accomplishments is not that it has improved state-level siting. That was a given. Instead, the big story here is the revival of permitting at the local level that the state has observed since the law’s passage and the introduction of the RRCA.
Since the law took effect on November 29, 2024, at least 15 renewable energy and storage projects – totaling over 2,000 megawatts – have been approved locally. This figure is likely an undercount, as it represents the projects permitted by communities that have already received their $5,000 per-MW RRCA grants – so there are likely more locally permitted projects that have not yet applied for the grant. That means since the onset of PA 233, more than 95% of Michigan’s newly permitted clean energy capacity has been sited locally.
This is state siting done right. Local control is preserved where possible, communities are compensated through either pathway, and projects are actually. getting. permitted. Our six principles of an effective state siting framework – clear rules, timely decisions, fair process, economic opportunity, community benefits, and land stewardship – aren’t abstract, and Michigan is the prime example of what they look like in practice.
If you want to learn more about how the Safety Net Model works and the principles policymakers should weigh when designing effective state siting policy, check out SSP’s “Win-Win Solution” report and our Siting Policy Field Guide.