More Windmills Are Coming to a Town Near You
Democrats won in court to unfreeze Trump's wind-energy memorandum which has halted construction for more than a year
On June 17, the Trump administration lost to Michigan’s attorney general’s office as the court dismissed a presidential memorandum that put an indefinite stop of federal permitting for new wind energy projects.
The pause began back in January 2025, and since then, no new windmill projects have broken ground in Michigan. The memorandum did not affect rights under existing leases, but leases were subject to review.
This was enough for companies such as Apex Clean Energy to step back from perusing new large scale projects in Michigan, and they abandoned a 50,000-acre wind project set to be hoisted in West Michigan.
Yes, you read that correctly. Fifty. Thousand. Acres. Just under 80 square miles where the windmills would physically stand with flashing red lights in the night sky.
With data centers coming, windmills offer yet another excuse to power them while trying to keep up with the green energy scam signed into law by Governor Whitmer in 2023.
According to basic calculations, it would take almost 120,000 acres, or almost 200 square miles, for windmills to power the Saline Data Center.
With the public acts she signed us up for, energy companies are able to take land from local governments no matter how much local pushback their might be.
But of course, it’s all about the money, not the people.
“The Trump administration’s attempt to halt federal approvals for wind energy projects would have derailed billions of dollars in infrastructure and workplace investments,” said Attorney General Dana Nessel.
Here’s where things get really fun: The permits for large wind (and solar) projects all go through our friends at the Michigan Public Service Commission.
Yes, the local dictatorship that approves the raises to our DTE and Consumers bills every chance they get while preaching “affordability.” Utility customers and taxpayers indirectly pay for a portion of the construction of windmills via rate hikes.
Sitting on that commission is, of course, Katherine Peretick, who worked for Vestas Wind Systems from 2011-2013.
I have a funny feeling that Vestas or one of their competitors, will pick up right where Apex left off and go after the West Michigan leases that were abandoned to secure even more land to erect as many windmills as possible.
Why wouldn’t they? Apex already did the dirty work, and surely Peretick isn’t going to stop them. Windmills don’t affect her cozy setup in an upscale Plymouth neighborhood.
If it's not happening in their backyard, they'll say it's best for us and the state of Michigan. Their pockets continue to get deeper while ours continue to bleed out.
