Wind and Solar Leasing in Sanilac County, Michigan

Michigan's Thumb: where most of the state's wind power already is

Sanilac County sits within Michigan's "Thumb" region, alongside Huron and Tuscola Counties -- together, these three counties host the large majority of Michigan's installed industrial wind capacity, a defining economic reality for landowners across the region. Sanilac County itself carries roughly 127.8 MW of installed wind capacity as of recent industry tracking, and hosts what industry reporting describes as the largest wind park developed to date by Exelon Wind, a Des Moines-based wind developer. Beyond the existing buildout, a further 300-megawatt project -- Riverbend Wind, potentially up to 50 turbines -- has been proposed for Sanilac County, targeting a late-2028 in-service date if it proceeds.

For a landowner here, that concentration of existing and proposed wind development means lease offers from wind developers are a real, live possibility rather than a hypothetical -- and it also means any given parcel's viability for a future project depends heavily on transmission proximity, existing turbine spacing, and whatever siting rules end up governing new projects (see below).

PA 233: the state law that changed who controls siting -- and Sanilac's pushback

Public Act 233 of 2023 fundamentally changed how large wind, solar, and battery-storage projects get sited in Michigan. For solar projects of 50 megawatts or more and wind projects of 100 megawatts or more, PA 233 shifts primary siting authority away from local townships and counties and toward the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), effective November 29, 2024 -- unless the local government in question has adopted its own "Compatible Renewable Energy Ordinance" (CREO) that is no stricter than the statewide standards PA 233 itself sets. Where a CREO is in place, the local government gets a defined 120-day window to approve or deny a qualifying project application; where it isn't, or where a compliant project is rejected anyway, the developer can go straight to the MPSC for permitting.

Sanilac County's Board of Commissioners has taken an unusually direct stance against this shift. County commissioners approved a letter of engagement with the Foster Swift law firm to pursue a legal challenge to the MPSC's siting authority over large wind and solar developments, and the county separately adopted its own resolution formally opposing state legislation that preempts local control over wind and solar siting -- with the board's chairman characterizing the state's rules as a further erosion of local zoning authority. This is a genuinely active, unsettled situation: as of this research, it was not confirmed whether Sanilac County's legal challenge had been resolved, and the practical siting rules for a brand-new large-scale project proposed in the county could shift again depending on how that plays out.

What this means before signing a lease

1. Confirm the current status of Sanilac County's legal challenge to PA 233 and MPSC siting authority directly with the county before assuming either the county's own stricter preferences or PA 233's statewide standard currently governs -- this is genuinely in flux.
2. Ask a prospective developer directly whether the specific project would be sited under the MPSC's PA 233 process or under a local Compatible Renewable Energy Ordinance (if the relevant township or the county has adopted one), since that affects both the approval timeline and which noise/setback standards apply.
3. Check the specific township's own zoning ordinance in addition to county-level policy, since Sanilac County's zoning is administered at the township level (see the county hub) and a township's own rules could differ from the county's stated position.
4. Have any lease agreement reviewed by an attorney experienced in Michigan wind/solar leasing specifically, given how recently and significantly the underlying siting-authority framework has changed.