I have submitted an editorial on this issue to another source, but I wanted to get this video out to my Substack while the story is fresh.
Media is reporting today that, amidst a growing backlash against the plan to log 420 acres of state forest to make room for a massive industrial solar plant, the company that initially petitioned a Michigan state agency for permission to build the plant is backing away.
A proposal to lease 420 acres of state land near Gaylord for a solar energy development is on shaky ground after attracting criticism from lawmakers, including calls for “mass firings” of state employees involved in the plan.
Given the horrible PR value of clear-cutting state forests to build an unreliable and expensive energy source that far north, it's not surprising a company would back away.
Additionally, given the findings of studies like Ferroni et al’s “Further considerations to: Energy Return on Energy Invested (ERoEI) for photovoltaic solar systems in regions of moderate insolation,” it’s clear that the overly generous federal subsidies and state-level mandates are the real drivers of solar developments in northern states and provinces. From Ferroni et al.
The conclusions of our original study remain unchanged. Any attempt to adopt an Energy Transition strategy by substitution of intermittent for base load power generation in countries like Switzerland or further north will result in unavoidable net energy loss. This applies both to the technologies considered, to the available data from the original study and to newer data from recent studies.
In the video, I explain some of the reasons why this proposed solar development near Gaylord, MI, is a bad idea.
Leave a comment, and feel free to share it around. The more people know about the growing waste and harm caused by net zero plans, the more likely they will be to speak out and tell elected officials, “ENOUGH!”
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