Michigan is preparing to clear hundreds of acres of forest to make way for solar panel development, MLive reported Thursday. [emphasis, links added]
The state will soon begin bidding on approximately 420 acres of forested land near Gaylord, Michigan, to make room for a solar farm while generating revenue and advancing the state's long-term green energy goals, MLive reports.
There is some evidence that the move would increase emissions, and Michigan is one of the sunniest states in the country. According to an analysis by The Washington Post.
“Not everyone is a huge fan of it,” Scott Whitcomb, director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) Office of Public Lands, told MLive. “I'll be honest.”
“We're not giving this land away for free,” Whitcomb told the outlet. “The rental income can be used for natural resource management. So, I wouldn't say that's the only reason, but it's something we think about. The bottom line is that we have to pay for the agency's activities in some way.
Notably, a study published by Harvard University researchers found that clearing forests to replace solar panel development may actually lead to an overall increase in greenhouse gas emissions, and a paper published by Chinese researchers found similar results in conclusion.
There are also oil and gas wellheads in other areas that are still covered by forest, according to MLive.
“It's really amazing. Michigan is not like California, where the sun doesn't always shine“, Energy Research Institute senior fellow Dan Kish told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“This is ridiculous drama, all fueled by federal and state tax credits and giveaways and mandates enforced by the governor.”
Michigan's Healthy Climate Plan states Officials should “avoid land use changes that result in a net increase in land use” [greenhouse gas] Emissions and prioritizing land uses that reduce emissions [greenhouse gas] emission” about the state’s waters and forests, but Whitcomb told MLive he hopes to use some of the solar revenue to purchase land for purposes such as connecting wildlife habitat or carbon sequestration.
Whitcomb added that a major transmission line has cut the 420-acre site in half, which will make it easier to bring solar farms into operation and make it less likely that new transmission lines will need to be built.
Read the break from The Daily Caller
