For the past several years, Grand Haven (GH) has been going through a tumultuous energy transition that has seen clean energy wins, losses, and everything in between. The Sierra Club's Jan O'Connell reviews the challenges and successes of this west side city.
Grand Haven's municipal electric utility, the Board of Light and Power (BLP), finally closed the JB Sims coal-powered electric plant in 2020. The plant, located on Harbor Island, was subsequently demolished in 2021, leaving Harbor Island and Grand Haven's waterfront free from the polluting industrial power plant.
This victory was short-lived; soon after, the Grand Haven City Council approved a resolution asking the BLP to construct a $100 million 36MW fossil gas plant on the island. These initial plans were dashed when it was discovered that the gas lines on Harbor Island wouldn't support a plant that size.
That didn't deter the city council from pushing for fossil gas; the next plan was to build a much smaller, 12 MW plant at $50 million. Around this time in 2021, PFAS was also discovered on Harbor Island, contaminating the soil and water due to years of coal ash pollution.
Environmental advocates spoke out against the city's plans to continue Grand Haven's reliance on fossil fuels. The Grand Haven Sustainability and Energy Commission began organizing and fundraising to establish a Community Energy Plan (CEP). The group had three main goals during this process:
- determine the carbon footprint of the GHBLP service area,
- develop strategies to improve energy efficiency in the city and
- create a strategic plan to attain a CEP
Over six months from 2021 - 2022, the Community Energy Plan Task Force applied for and received grants from the Grand Haven Community Foundation, Loutit Foundation, MI Dept of Environment Great Lakes & Energy(EGLE). They also received a generous contribution from the city of Grand Haven, which brought the group well beyond their fundraising goal of $100,000.
Work continued in 2022 and 2023. This past September, MI Energy Options / Five Lakes Energy consultants were hired to make Grand Haven's Community Energy Plan efforts a reality. More commotion occurred when a whistleblower complaint claimed illegal actions and infighting with BLP's directors with the city, which resulted in the BLP's general manager resigning effective January 2024.
Despite all of this, the Community Energy Plan is moving forward and this week, they are kicking off the planning process with three Open Houses held in various city locations. Community members are encouraged to attend and provide comments and ideas for how to move Grand Haven toward a clean energy future.