The Gustin Solar file is open

If you live anywhere near Gustin or Harrisville Township, you have probably heard that Consumers Energy wants to build a 335-megawatt solar plant across roughly 1,800 acres of Alcona County. You may also have heard strong opinions about it. What has been harder to find is the file itself — the application, the studies, the ordinances, the law. So we opened it.

What's live today

The Briefing — the whole dispute in ten panels: what's proposed, who decides, and a claim-by-claim fact-check of the consultant letter urging denial. Some of its findings hold up; some don't. We show our work either way.

The Records — all 22 primary documents, mirrored exactly as filed: the full application and exhibits, the glare and sound studies, the township ordinances, the Court of Appeals opinion. Each carries a cryptographic fingerprint so you can verify nothing was altered. When new documents appear on the township sites, they land here automatically — usually within hours.

The Law — new today. Public Act 233 is why a township "no" may not end this. We traced exactly who wrote it, who voted for and against it — three roll calls verified legislator-by-legislator in the official journals, zero crossovers — and what both sides said in their own words. No spin; the record is striking enough.

What we're watching

Gustin Township's Planning Commission met August 6 to take up final action on the application. The minutes aren't out yet. The moment they publish, they'll be in the records library and you'll hear from us. Harrisville's commission meets the first Wednesday of even months. And the Michigan Supreme Court is deciding whether to hear the case that will define how much say townships keep.

Coming next: Caledonia Solar — the other Consumers Energy project in Alcona County that almost nobody is talking about. Same open-file treatment.

You're receiving this because you signed up at insidemichigan.org/solar. Forward it to a neighbor who'd want the file, not the fight.