One of the most effective ways for Ottawa County to thwart the MPSC/Consumers Energy plan to convert many of our farmland acres into solar panel fields is to not let them close our Campbell plant and convert some of it into a battery storage facility. The purpose of the battery storage facility is to store electric intermittently generated from solar and wind power fields that the MPSC will let certain favored corporations get.
This describes the MPSC/Consumers Energy plan for our farmlands if we do not thwart it:
It can be a way for government-favored corporations to grab control of our land currently owned by independent farmers.
| In an Mlive article at https://www.mlive.com/environment/2025/02/ai-boom-could-inflate-michigan-power-bills-consumers-energy-is-proposing-safeguards.html?lctg=65cd871918daceff2d075e90&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter_morning_briefing%202025-02-24&utm_term=Newsletter_morning_briefing entitled “AI boom could inflate Michigan power bills. Consumers Energy is proposing safeguards”, the following is noted: |
| “… Data centers powering cloud computing and artificial intelligence can use as much power as a city … Michigan Public Service Commission Chair Dan Scripps said he’ll be examining how utilities charge data centers so Michigan isn’t left “holding the bag.” He’s got an opportunity already this year. On Feb. 7, Consumers Energy, one of the state’s largest utilities, asked regulators for permission to tweak an electric rate it proposes to use for new data centers, in part to address those concerns. Microsoft has purchased 316 acres in a Grand Rapids suburb for a potential data center. In a filing, Consumers said it had inquiries from more than 30 prospective data center developers, representing a total of over 15 gigawatts in demand. Those aren’t done deals. But to put the number in perspective, Consumers’ J.H. Campbell coal-fired power plant in Ottawa County, closing this year, is rated at 1.45 gigawatts, capable of serving a million people…” |
The citizens of Ottawa County should control the extent of AI data centers and whether our farmlands get converted into solar panel fields. Our recommended plan to thwart this nightmare scenario is here . By God’s grace we can thwart it.