By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Groveland Twp. — Following several months of deliberation, on Oct. 22, the Groveland Township Planning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend to the township board of trustees an ordinance regarding a proposed Battery Energy Storage System. The board is expected to decide on the ordinance on Nov. 11.
“We are not acting in isolation, but have taken exhaustive measures to consult the council, through legal counsel Will Hosler, township planner, and consulted subject matter experts,” said Chairperson Jeff Penzien.  “We have done what I believe is beyond good faith diligence educating ourselves and learning about the technology and the risks.”
The ordinance is necessary after earlier this year when Dallas-based Vesper Company purchased property from an individual for a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), a type of energy storage system that uses lithium batteries to store and distribute energy in the form of electricity at a later time. By storing energy, extra power is saved and released when demand is greater such as the evening hours. Potentially, reducing or avoiding price spikes and supply shortfalls. Without a way to store power, electricity must be used the instant it’s generated.
The proposed 63 acre parcel borders I-75 on the west side with the ITC corridor overhead and near The River Church, with Springfield Township to the south. The actual area used will be about 10 to 12 acres with about five acres of batteries.
Prior to the construction of an energy facility, township planning officials, including a steering committee and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) worked to implement an ordinance to safely regulate its operation. Key in the ordinance will be Public Act 233, which lawmakers approved last November. The Act goes into effect Nov. 29, and shifts the authority from local to the Michigan Public Service Commission for massive wind, solar, and energy storage facilities in some cases.
Bob DePalma township supervisor said that if the township does not introduce any ordinance to cover the (battery, solar or wind power) systems, they will be stuck with whatever EGLE decides at the November deadline. As a result the township planning commission formulated an ordinance that would provide some modification to once PA 233 goes into effect. That ordinance was approved by the planning commission and now moves on to the township board of trustees.
The township received a letter from a law firm in Grand Rapids that is initiating an appeal of what is an alleged overreach of the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC). The appeal challenges the MPSC how it administers PA 233 when it becomes effective. The law firm is proposing municipalities come together to participate in a group for the appeal.
“I’m not sure what this law firm is going to achieve,” said Hosler. “The Act (233) has passed, it’s (lawsuit) not going to thwart (Act) 233.”
Supervisor DePalma remained skeptical regarding the lawsuit.
“I’ve made inquiries into the suit,” he said. “I have no intention of putting the lawsuit on the township agenda until we have some answers about if it will materialize. No one on the township board or planning commission likes this Public Act 233, but it does not mean we are going to say we are not going to comply with your law.”
While construction of the BESS facility may not begin for another five years.