The Daily News Staff
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Team Kathy Bresnahan for Montcalm, Board of County Commissioners. |
IONIA – Large solar panels and wind turbines sold as “farms” that harvest sun and wind are sweeping our nation, state and small communities in the quest for renewable energy. While they have their place in building our energy independence, are they green, are they clean, are they good on the best farmland across the country?
Our journey to protect our township from solar panels has had some surprising twists and turns. On the bright side, we reunited with surrounding communities and met people on the same rocky road from the Planning Commission, council meetings and reminders. We also discovered that many of our neighbors are so busy with daily activities that they have no idea that large solar panels and wind turbines are looming – which will soon change their lives and the communities in which they live.
Protect Keene is a grassroots organization made up of local citizens committed to preserving the unique and productive rural landscape and farmland for future generations. Donations from concerned local residents help defray costs such as publicity and public education on the topic of industrial wind and solar proposed on farmland versus industrial and brownfield areas.
Researching all the pros and cons of large-scale renewable energy can be overwhelming and confusing for some people. Trying to sort out fact from fiction can leave people with more questions than answers.
In an effort to bring neighboring communities, local governments and residents together on this topic globally, Protect Keene is hosting a documentary “Wind Fall”, a film by Laura Israel, which follows the rural community of Meredith, NY The film will be shown for free as a double feature from 2-4pm on Sunday at the Ionia Theater in Ionia, followed by an educational presentation on zoning for utility scale solar power and what townships need to know.
The residents of Meredith became deeply divided as they fought over the future of their community. What can we learn from this concrete example of what the people of Meredith went through? What will our local communities be able to take away from Meredith residents applying to our Michigan townships?
As townships in Michigan are awash with attempts to develop renewable energy in rural communities, townships in Montcalm and Ionia counties face the same concerns as Meredith.
Visit protectkeene.org for more information.
