Solar power firm says decision not to lease state-owned land made prior to criticism by lawmakers 

A plan to locate a solar farm on state-owned land in northern lower Michigan was scuttled before bipartisan criticism of the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) by lawmakers.That’s according to RWE Clean Energy, which says it is developing a 200 megawatt solar project in Otsego County, located on more than a thousand acres of privately owned land.“The project footprint does not contain any state-owned land,” Patricia Kakridas, senior manager for media and public relations for RWE Clean Energy told the Michigan Advance. “It is being developed on private property we are leasing from two private landowners. We are not seeking to build our project on public land.”The effort to lease 420 acres of state-managed land west of Gaylord was approved by DNR Director Scott Bowen, who told agency employees that a proposed solar farm would be located near an existing high-voltage power transmission line as well as two planned privately-owned solar panel installations.“As the largest landowner in the state, DNR can play a role in providing energy needed by society. DNR lands have been leased for gas, oil and mineral production for decades. Now, solar energy is part of the mix, and we expect some of our state lands can be used for that purpose while recognizing not every acre proposed for development is compatible with solar energy,” said Bowen. Rep. Ken Borton | House photoHowever, the plan drew condemnation from Republican lawmakers, as well as at least two Democrats. State Rep. Ken Borton (R-Gaylord) blasted the decision to utilize state forest land for a solar energy project.“Mind-numbing decisions like this are absolute proof that the DNR is completely rotten to its core,” said Borton. “This deforestation will destroy habitats and effectively kill wildlife. Let me make that clear, the DNR is choosing to kill wildlife so they can build solar panels.”However, Kakridas indicated the decision not to lease state land was made some time ago.  “We did not just make that determination. We started working with two private landowners in 2019 and during the development process, we conducted outreach to all landowners adjacent to the project location, including DNR. Ultimately, we decided to move forward with leasing property from the two private landowners for this particular project,” she said.In his communication to DNR staff, Bowen indicated that the agency already leases land for many types of industrial development, “including gas and oil wells and processing facilities, pipelines and flowlines, mines, sand and gravel pits, asphalt plants, and cell phone towers,” and there was a rigorous process in place to determine what parcels were best for solar energy production.“To date, DNR has evaluated over 30,000 acres, and most have been found incompatible with solar energy. Any sites selected will be carefully vetted to minimize environmental, cultural and habitat concerns. Some revenue generated from leasing land will be use