Michigan community tilts at wind farms

By Jack Spencer | Michigan Capitol Confidential

Voters in Osceola County’s Sherman Township have overturned regulations for wind turbines in referendums twice in recent years. That was enough to make Heritage Sustainable Energy give up on plans to locate wind turbines there.

Now, Next Era Energy wants to locate wind turbines in the township and local officials are looking for a fresh set of regulations that could allow that to happen. But the same local activist group that so far has been able to help keep the turbines away is poised to fight them off again.

“It looks to me like we’re probably going to end up having a third referendum,” Victoria Brehm said. “The township voters have spoken twice and said: ‘We don’t want wind turbines here.’ But township officials seem determined to try and find ways to let them come in anyway.”

at Michigan Capitol Confidential.