One of Michigan's biggest solar farms is here

If you’re looking at rural land in Shiawassee County, the county’s recent energy story is worth knowing. Around 2016 to 2018, several companies tried to build big wind farms in the county’s northwest townships, but the plans drew strong local opposition and the county put a moratorium on wind development. No large wind farm was ever built here.

Solar was a different story. The Assembly Solar Project — built across Hazelton and Venice townships and finished in stages between 2019 and 2022 — was the largest solar farm in Michigan when it was completed, and it’s still one of the biggest. It covers roughly 1,200 acres of former farm fields with around 800,000 panels and sells its power to utilities. The land is leased from a handful of local farm families on long-term leases, which gives those owners a steady payment and adds to the local tax base. Like the wind projects, it wasn’t universally loved — some neighbors don’t care for the look of it, and most of the power leaves the area — but unlike the wind projects, it got built.

What this means for you depends on where you’re buying. If you own or buy farmland out here, you may someday be approached about leasing land for solar — and it’s worth reading any offer carefully, since these leases run 20 to 40 years. And if you’re buying near Hazelton or Venice, the solar farm is part of the local landscape now. The county and townships have their own solar rules, so the planning office is the place to ask what’s allowed.