State law
What Michigan Law Says About Wind and Solar Projects
Public Act 233 of 2023 created a statewide approval pathway for large renewable energy projects. It is widely misunderstood — here is what it actually does.
What it does
- Creates a statewide approval pathway through the Michigan Public Service Commission for qualifying large wind, solar, and storage projects.
- Applies to projects above specified size thresholds (e.g. 100+ MW solar, 100+ MW wind, 50+ MW storage).
- Sets baseline siting standards (setbacks, sound limits, height limits) that local rules can equal but generally not exceed.
What it does not do
- It does not remove all local input — local governments can still adopt compatible ordinances and participate in proceedings.
- It does not guarantee approval — every project still has to clear the MPSC review process.
- It does not eliminate environmental, drainage, or roadway requirements.
Why it exists
Local rules across Michigan's 1,800+ townships had become so inconsistent that statewide energy planning was effectively impossible. Some communities had reasonable rules; others had de facto bans. PA 233 is an attempt to create predictable baseline standards while preserving local input within those bounds.
What it means in practice
Local control still exists — but it is not absolute. If a township's rules are stricter than the state baseline, a developer of a qualifying large project may apply directly to the MPSC instead of the township. The practical lesson: reasonable local ordinances tend to keep decisions local; extreme ones tend to push them to the state.