08-04-2025
Residents voice opposition to Lake Odessa wind turbine
ODESSA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — The Odessa Township Board voted 2-2 to reject the application permit for a Cordelio Energy temporary testing facility Monday night.
The vote followed more than an hour of public comment in vehement opposition of the eventual that Cordelio has proposed for the community. Most cited the environmental and noise pollution concerns they associate with wind turbines. Others warned of falling property values, possible reductions in population and the spoiling of their beautiful Ionia county landscape.
'This is going to shut the town down,' one commenter said.
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'This beautiful land is being forfeited so the city can get some more power,' another added.
'The government needs to protect this community,' a third commenter said, referencing the township board.
The testing facility is a necessary data-gathering prerequisite to building wind turbines in any community. But Monday's vote was likely mostly symbolic. The testing tower is already built and functioning.
The tower was built in November 2024, one of three owned and operated by Cordelio in the area. It was approved by the Ionia County Building Department without a permit from the township, as is required in the township's that was passed in 2019.
Cordelio admitted that was an 'oversight' and went to the township this year to get the necessary permitting. The appearance of the vote on the board's agenda attracted the anti-turbine crowd to the meeting.
Now that the township has denied the permit, though, Cordelio will likely go to the Michigan Public Service Commission to get the permit instead, which poses more problems for the township. After the negative vote, Supervisor Gary Secor explained that if the Public Service Commission approves the permit now, it will nullify and void the township's wind ordinance, hampering its ability to dictate the wind turbine project when it reaches fruition.
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The final curveball, though, is that because of a law passed last year, the state's Public Service Commission has the power to override local ordinances when planning and advancing 'utility level renewable energy projects.'
That had Lake Odessa's State Representative Gina Johnsen, a Republican, fired up at Monday night's meeting — calling for the community to continue its fight as the convoluted process continues.
'The state voted that you don't have the authority to make the decision for what the people want,' Johnsen said to the board. 'It's your time to stand up and defend your turf … not with violence like others do … but with intelligence and with organization. … It might be a stall tactic. It might be putting your foot in the door so it doesn't slam shut. But it shows us how important it is to be engaged. You cannot be quiet.'
The next steps in the process are uncertain but the community found unified resolve at Monday night's meeting.
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