ST. NICHOLAS, Mich. (WZMQ) – A Delta County town is the latest in the Upper Peninsula to be chosen as a site for solar panel installation.
When Chicago-based clean energy developer Invenergy was looking for land for a solar panel project, it found the small community of St. Nicholas.
“We had a gentleman come up, and he looked a little bit lost,” said farmer Bob VanDamme. “I told him, ‘You’ll never find any here. It’s all third- and fourth-generation farms.’ He said, no, they didn’t want to buy any; they just wanted to lease it.”
Invenergy initially leased just over 2,000 acres throughout the area. Up to 550 acres are set to actually be covered by solar panels, which will be capable of powering more than 18,000 homes.
“The reason that this solar company looked for land in our area is we have a high-tension line—a Wisconsin Electric line—and you need the infrastructure,” VanDamme explained. “That power goes up into the line and it’s spread wherever Wisconsin Electric takes it. We’re lucky enough to have that in our area. The more power we put into that line, the better that it’ll be for everyone.”
VanDamme has lived in St. Nicholas for his entire life, purchasing his farm from his parents in 1978. A retired potato farmer, he still grows small grains and hay. Invenergy will place roughly 15 acres of solar panels on his property.
“For me, the solar was how I kind of got involved,” VanDamme said. “After going to Delta County meetings and Planning Commission meetings for a year, it’s kind of a private property rights issue with me now.
While the project did face some opposition, farmers like VanDamme have faith in Invenergy’s “good neighbor policy.”
“They don’t put panels right in front of your neighbor’s home,” he said. “They always have a real good setback. Our little St. Nicholas Cemetery, they actually cut out 30 acres from the project around the cemetery, so there will never be any panels there.”
According to Invenergy, the company is committed to “minimizing impacts to sensitive ecological resources and ensuring responsible land use” in its projects. Invenergy also says the emission reductions resulting from the project will be the equivalent of 38 million trees planted.
“I think Invenergy’s a very good company,” VanDamme said. “I think they do things in the right way, and they’re very environmentally conscious.”
VanDamme has also been impressed with Invenergy’s investment in St. Nicholas and the surrounding area aside from the solar project.
“I happen to be on our local school board,” he said. “With the tax increase—which is all taken over by the company—it’s going to help the county, the township, the school. They’ve donated to our robotics team at Mid Peninsula.”
According to Invenergy Director of Renewable Development Cooper Johnson, “The project will invest over $64 million in tax revenues, land rental payments, wages and benefits over the life of the project.”
Invenergy also says the project will support as many as 250 jobs during the construction phase, as well as up to three full-time operations and maintenance staff.
Construction is currently underway on the substation. Invenergy expects operations to begin in late 2025.
“We have a 25-year contract with a 25-year rollover,” VanDamme said. “There’s a remediation bond that when they’re done, they’ll take everything out and put the land back in its original form. It’s going to leave that property probably in better shape than what it was.”
The St. Nicholas solar panel project has an estimated lifespan of 35 years. VanDamme and other farmers involved believe it will lead to a greener and brighter future.
“The farmers that are in this project are all in their 70s with probably nobody in line to take over their farms,” said VanDamme. “I think this is a very good way to keep the property in our families for the long run. We like to think of it, we’ve been farmers all our life and now we’re just farming the sun.”
