EDITOR:
To the concerned citizens of Escanaba Township and those interested in the area’s solar project.
Solar is a good thing! It lowers or levels off growing electric rates, offers jobs, raises tax revenues, which will help various entities.
Delta County, blessed with resources for wind and solar could be the power house for the Upper Peninsula. The Garden Peninsula in Delta County is the best area for wind power production on the Great Lakes. Escanaba Township is the best area for solar.
However, the Escanaba Township Board (ETB) is delaying this fruitful project from happening. Orion (solar developer) has tried greatly to appease them.
Dec 18, 2020
ESCANABA For the record, the day the Escanaba Township Board meeting was held was incorrectly reported in the story “Solar farm project scaled down,” which ran on page 1A of the Dec. 16 edition of the Daily Press.
The meeting took place Monday, Dec. 14 via Zoom.
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ESCANABA TOWNSHIP A controversial solar farm project planned for Escanaba Township has been scaled back once again, but even with the changes, the Escanaba Township Board was hesitant to say they supported the development within the community.
“Going forward, we hope to be able to work with the planning commission and the township board to be able to develop the project in a way that is compatible with the aesthetics and the intentions of the planning commission and the board,” said Peter Moritzburke, of Orion Renewable Energy.
In 2019, the township board approved a stand-alone solar ordinance that would have allowed Orion Renewable Energy Group to build a large-scale solar farm in the township. However, it was later determined that the ordinance was insufficient for the development to move forward and the township would need instead to approve an amendment to the township’s zoning ordinance if the project were to proceed.