“Joseph Parnell McCarter, Georgetown Township, volunteer leader of SaveTheCampbell effort.
This Board passed an excellent Campbell Resolution, but Board leadership needs course correction for what has happened subsequently.
Imagine if the OI commissioners had passed their constitutional county resolution and then in the weeks following did radio interviews trashing the Bill of Rights: sadly the equivalent has happened in the case of the county’s Campbell Resolution. Board leadership has said on media outlets that they spoke with Consumers Energy representatives and that their concerns were satisfied by their answers. In reality, Consumers Energy said nothing new and did absolutely nothing to address the substance of concerns expressed in the county resolution.
The Consumers Energy answer fails to address the grid issues that MISO and NERC have been warning about: our regional grid is now in trouble because planned plant closures in the coming few years exceed reliable baseload replacement. The best current estimates are that our regional grid is on course for experiencing a 4.7 gigawatt shortfall by 2027 brought on by the rapid closures of coal plants like the Campbell.
It also fails to address how the Net Zero agenda is wreaking havoc in Europe, which is further down the Net Zero path, so we can see what the results will be. For example, in recent weeks Spain experienced a nationwide daylong blackout which nearly brought down a significant part of Europe’s grid. This blackout brought Spain to its knees, given virtually all societal systems stopped working. We also see how the UK is de-industrializing as it copes with the highest electric prices in the world and a tenuous grid. Nor did Consumers Energy answer its breach of contract with Wolverine Power over the Campbell, for which there is on-going litigation, nor did it address the $1 billion in special anti-polluting equipment spent on the Campbell but wasted if the Campbell is demolished.
It is not too late for this county Board to correct course, and I am not asking this Board to take immediate legal action, but rather invite major Campbell plant stakeholders to a mediation discussion table with the goal of leaving the Campbell intact the coming several years so that it could be inexpensively restarted, especially if grid problems necessitate. Invitees could include representatives from Consumers Energy, the Trump Administration, MPSC, the County Board, and other township boards. Such mediation discussions would entail minimal cost, but help the county board to ascertain what can be achieved without costly litigation and other action. So long as there is adequate guarantee that the Campbell can be inexpensively restarted, the County Board can live with Campbell closure for now.
Sadly the MPSC/Consumers Energy duo is sold out to the misguided Net Zero agenda, and so I would hope that for long-term purposes this Board will be open to working with various interested township boards and data centers to explore the possibility of a purchase of Consumers Energy’s interest in the Campbell.
This County Board should not shirk the responsibility over electric utility service which the Michigan Constitution has invested in it.
Thanks for your consideration of these requests.”