BRONSON, MI (WTVB) – As the opposition to the possibility of wind turbines from DTE Energy in Branch County grows, the group leading the opposition is gearing up to attend two governmental sessions this week.
Concerned Citizens of Branch County is urging its members to attend the Matteson Township Planning Board’s public work session Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. The work session is open to the public, but unlike the Planning Board meeting held June 21 at St. Mary’s School gymnasium which included public comment, this work session will not include public comments.
DTE Energy representatives are also on agenda for the Branch County Board of Commissioners work session Thursday at 9:00 a.m. at the Branch County Courthouse. The citizen’s group plans to gather outside the courthouse at 8:30 a.m.
Meantime, Consumers Energy, one of Michigan’s two big regional utilities, is suggesting in a recent report that it may focus its efforts outside the state when it comes to building more wind power developments, in part due to public opposition in the Michigan Thumb region.
The idea is expressed in a June 15 planning document the the company filed with the Michigan Public Service Commission. The document also laid out the company’s plan to expand solar-powered generation capacity by 5,000 megawatts through the end of the next decade.
In its report to state regulators, the electricity and natural gas company said it believe that opposition to wind farm developments in Huron County, and poor wind speeds in counties west of the Thumb region, mean that “wind built in Michigan may not be cost-effective or a feasible option.”
The company filed its report 10 days before it announced two new wind farms in Gratiot County, Michigan, and Northwest Ohio.
