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Nearly 900-acre solar farm proposed in mid-Michigan

Posted By: Detroit Free Press on February 16, 2026.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

A proposal for a nearly 900-acre, $100 million solar farm in the southwest corner of Ingham County is now being reviewed by state officials.

Leslie Township Supervisor Dallas Henney expects to hear by the end of the year whether the Michigan Public Service Commission will OK Chicago-based Ranger Power’s Acceleration Solar Project. A company official has said the solar farm would produce 90 megawatts and mean a $100 million investment in Ingham County.

Henney’s guessing the project will be approved since Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed 2023 legislation that streamlined the zoning of wind and solar projects by shifting the approval, in certain circumstances, away from local zoning boards to the Michigan Public Service Commission. Board members are appointed by Whitmer.

Henney criticized the project that would span about 870 acres, mainly east of College Road and south of Barnes Road in Vevay Township, and also includes parcels in Vevay and Onondaga townships.

Greater Lansing residents have criticized the project.

“I know the majority of the community absolutely does not want these industrial solar sites taking over the farmland in our community,” Amy Clark of Fowlerville wrote in a letter to the MPSC. “Our residents in our township have so many concerns regarding the effects these will have on our community: the property values, drainage, fire hazards, how these will affect the well water (our drinking water) and the water the wildlife drink.”

Multiple counties and dozens of Michigan townships sued over the transfer of zoning authority to the MPSC, a case that is still pending.

Ranger Power’s Acceleration Solar application was the first filed with the MPSC after legislators approved Public Act 233, MPSC spokesman Matt Helms confirmed. He declined further comment.

The legislation “pretty much took it out of our hands,” said Henney, who fears the application’s outcome could be a template for the future. “We can’t do much to stop it. To be honest with you, there’s not a lot you can do, you just  try to work with them.”

Onondaga Township Supervisor Phil Hutchison did not respond to requests for comment.

Vevay Township Supervisor John Lazet, when asked for comment, said in an email: “We are at a stage where it’s best if we are not discussing the project, so I will respectfully decline your offer.”

The townships, Henney said, have done what they can, filing documents requesting more township involvement since Acceleration Solar LLC filed its application in June.

“The Township will bring helpful information to the Commission’s attention because the Township has substantial expertise in matters relating to its own jurisdiction and residents,” Leslie Township attorneys wrote. “The Township knows its lands and borders, including the lands which may host the proposed Project, better than any other party.”

The application now being reviewed by the MPSC proposes a solar fam of 873 acres, 618 of those acres being fenced in. A little more than 400 acres are in Leslie Township, 395 acres are in Vevay Township and 76 acres in Onondaga Township.

Construction is targeted to begin in 2027, with commercial operations anticipated in 2028.

Acceleration Solar’s website said the project would create approximately 150 local construction jobs and up to two long-term jobs after construction.

Brady Friss, Ranger Power’s development manager, said in an email the Acceleration Solar Project will benefit the three townships and region.

He expects “substantial tax revenue, with an estimated $8 million going to Ingham County, $5.1 million to the county ISD (Ingham Intermediate School District), $4.6 million to local schools, and $7.3 million in combined revenue for township millages.”

“Once operational, the project will produce enough energy to power an estimated 20,000 homes,” Friss said in a statement. “The location was strategically selected because it is sited close to large load centers like Lansing, East Lansing, and Jackson, where the power is greatly needed and the existing transmission system is robust. Furthermore, Ranger Power ensures the site selection process avoids impacts to wetlands, streams, rare plants, and endangered animals.

He said Ranger Power is “deeply committed” to community collaboration.

“Since introducing the project to landowners and local leaders in 2022, we have undertaken significant efforts to ensure transparency and gather feedback,” he said. “This included hosting two separate informational public meetings where residents were encouraged to engage directly and ask questions.”

He said Ranger Power also reached out to neighboring landowners to discuss the proposal, address concerns, and offer meaningful opportunities for feedback that contributed to the final project application.

The Acceleration Solar application indicates the project involves 10 parcels of land owned by four private landowners including David Cheney, Theron and Helen Smith, Bud Rice and Ceres Farms LLC.

Cheney, a retired farmer who lives in Delhi Township, decided to lease more than 50 acres he owns in Vevay Township for the solar project for 25 years.

For the most part, he said solar farm owners are doing a decent job building solar facilities.

He’s shared his thoughts with neighbors and, at the end of the day, he said he and his wife decided to lease based on what’s best for them and not whether solar farms are good or bad.

“This is the way it is, and the way it’s going to be,” Cheney said.

Friss said plans include the planting of deep-rooted plants, grasses, and flowers, which will create new habitat for pollinating insects and birds.

“This new vegetation is also expected to help rebuild the soil, improve water quality, and reduce stormwater runoff, thereby reducing reliance on fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticides,” he said. “At the end of the project’s life, the land will be restored for agricultural use.”

The MPSC’s website shows the state agency is now reviewing five applications for projects in Ingham, Genesee, Washtenaw, Lenawee and Sanilac counties.

Also, the MPSC has already ruled that the application for Ranger Power’s Headland Solar Project was incomplete. The project is proposed as a 220-megawatt solar farm on roughly 2,400 acres — 1,240 of them fenced — in Cohoctah Township and Conway Township in Livingston County.

Missing from the list is an application from RWE, working as Walker Road Solar Farm LLC, to use about 1,600 acres for a solar farm in Bingham Township, near St. Johns in Clinton County.

Last month, residents crowded the Bingham Township hall to protest and raise concerns about the project that a company official said would produce 150 megawatts of clean energy, which is enough to power about 28,000 homes.

The township board will not have a vote in the matter. Project Development Manager J. Kevin Cole said the company’s goal is to submit its application to the MPSC by spring and have the facility under construction in 2027.