Solar, wind, and your land: PA 233 and the leasing question

This page explains Michigan law in plain English so you know what questions to ask. It isn’t legal advice. Before signing any energy lease or option on your land, talk to your own Michigan attorney — not the developer’s.

Status as of June 2026: the law is in effect; legal and political challenges are ongoing. Both sides of this fight are sincerely held, and this page describes rather than argues.

The short version

This is the most contested land-use law in modern Michigan. Since November 2024, developers of large renewable projects can ask the Michigan Public Service Commission for their land-use approval, instead of the local government. “Large” means solar of 50 megawatts and up, wind of 100 MW and up, and storage of 50 MW and up — that’s Public Act 233 of 2023. There’s one exception. A township or county that adopts a “compatible renewable energy ordinance” (a CREO, no stricter than the state’s standards for setbacks, height, sound, and fencing) keeps the decision local. Supporters call the law a fix for a clean-energy bottleneck. Dozens of townships and counties call it the end of local control.

How the process works

The developer must approach the local government first. A CREO keeps jurisdiction local. Without one — or after a denial under stricter-than-state rules — the developer can take the project to the MPSC, which applies the state standards. One fact defuses many rumors: projects below the thresholds stay fully under local zoning, full stop. The community solar array and the single farm turbine were never part of this law.

The litigation, dated and neutral

Roughly eighty townships and several counties challenged the MPSC’s implementing order. On May 8, 2026, the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld most of it, including the commission’s authority to run the permitting process. The court rejected narrower pieces — notably the commission’s reading of a notification timeline, which the judges said improperly shortened local governments’ clock. Separately, the citizen ballot campaign to restore local control (Citizens for Local Choice) suspended its 2026 signature drive, with a possible restart later. Appeals and rule adjustments continue. The MPSC’s siting pages and the Michigan Townships Association track developments from their respective seats.

If you’re offered a lease (the genuinely useful part)

Solar and wind leases are typically decades-long commitments: option periods, per-acre rents, escalators, and decommissioning obligations (PA 233 requires decommissioning plans). Ask these before anything gets signed:

• Who pays the taxes, and what happens to your assessment?
• What happens to your PA 116 or Qualified Forest enrollment? Enrolled land generally must exit those programs to host a project. Exiting has repayment consequences people discover too late.
• What does your mortgage say? Many require lender consent.
• What exactly comes back at decommissioning, and who guarantees it?

The only universal advice: never sign a developer’s option without your own attorney. The option is cheap for the developer and binding for you.

If you’re the neighbor

When the MPSC has jurisdiction, its process includes public comment. Locally, the question is whether your township has a CREO and what it says. Either way, the honest framing: state standards — setbacks, sound limits, fencing, decommissioning — apply under both paths. The fight is over who decides, not whether standards exist.

Who decides

Your township or county if it has a compatible ordinance; the MPSC if not. The Court of Appeals is still refereeing the edges. Zoning covers everything below the thresholds.

The signpost

The MPSC’s facility-siting pages carry the rules and active cases. The Michigan Townships Association presents the local-government perspective. MSU Extension and University of Michigan guidance helps local officials draft CREOs. Start at Owning Land in Michigan.