Dear Members of the Township Boards of Ottawa County:
We are thankful for the recent Trump Administration order temporarily pausing the Campbell closure[1] and the work of many of you that helped make it possible. More local involvement is now needed to save the Campbell on a longer term basis and secure a reliable, affordable grid. The Consumers Energy/MPSC duo is firmly committed to an unrealistic Net Zero agenda that will become even more expensive as Federal Government subsidies like the solar credit are reduced or eliminated.[2] Our current Net Zero path has us following the UK into rising electric rates, de-industrialization, and a tenuous grid.[3] The best estimates are a 4.7 gigawatt shortfall in our regional grid by 2027 if planned plant closures like the Campbell proceed.[4]
Our request is that Ottawa County’s township boards (or at least as many as would be interested) join together in setting up an exploratory committee to investigate acquiring Consumers Energy’s interest in the Campbell, via local electric cooperatives, financed with the assistance of a data center that would utilize some of the Campbell’s generated electricity, and facilitated with the assistance of the Ottawa County Board. It could also investigate the possibility of local control of electric for the parts of the County which do not yet have it. Of course, if such investigation of the committee were to conclude no economic path is currently available, then the effort would not be pursued. However, there is good reason to believe an economic path is available given the strong demand for reliable electric which the Campbell facility can provide in the coming years. The Trump Administration might even assist us in this local effort.
The reality is that the combination of gas and coal for our baseload electric remains the most practical route for the coming decade,[5] and with the Campbell we are well positioned to sell at higher prices some electric to a data center which can in turn be used to reduce residential rates. We should put a hold on trying to move to solar as our baseload electric, because it lacks the reliability we need, misallocates money, and wastes our valuable Michigan farmlands and forests on solar panel fields.
We need to get local control of electric by God’s grace, so we can pursue a common sense energy future. There are parts of Ottawa County already with local control of electric, and they enjoy significantly lower rates than Consumers Energy customers.
Sincerely,
Joseph Parnell McCarter
Volunteer leader, SaveTheCampbell.com
Georgetown Township, MI
[1] https://www.mlive.com/environment/2025/05/trump-officials-order-michigan-coal-power-plant-must-stay-open-on-eve-of-shutdown.html
[2] https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/business/money-report/how-the-u-s-clean-energy-boom-could-go-bust-if-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-becomes-law/3753316/
[3] https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2033529/uk-electricity-prices
[4] https://manhattan.institute/article/overcoming-obstacles-in-americas-energy-grid
[5] https://savethecampbell.com/ottawa-county-needs-both-coal-and-gas-electric-generating-capacity-for-energy-security-and-has-the-legal-tools-to-keep-them/