At the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners meeting on August 26, 2025, I shared the following information about the Blendon Township battery project. I live in Blendon, which is part of Commissioner District 5, and care deeply about this issue.
- This issue negatively impacts families, businesses, schools, and more.
- On August 18, 2025, there was a township meeting that was packed wall to wall.
- Residents were extremely unhappy with the planned battery storage, and the fact that the land owner is on the township planning commission.
- Unknown to most residents, a company called Key Capture signed a 20-year lease with that land owner to setup a lithium battery energy storage system.
- Blendon Township residents and many county officials oppose the battery storage.
- The company that owns Key Capture is from South Korea.
- The person who owns the land being leased for the battery storage is on the Blendon Township Planning Commission, which considers the battery storage and related ordinances. Residents have shared concerns this is a conflict of interest. The commission member has recused himself from votes related to this project.
Public Safety Questions
- Fire: If there is a fire, you cannot put it out. You just have to let the batteries burn.
- How are lithium phosphate batteries different than lithium ion?
- Water Quality: If there is a fire, can heavy metals leach into the ground water?
- How can the ground water be protected, similar to other facilities that handle chemicals? (e.g. – landfills)
- Air Quality: If there is a fire, will there be evacuations? How will this impact livestock and crops?
- Is there research about what happens during and after a fire?
- Will fire spread, or are the batteries designed to somehow limit the burn potential?
- Schools: If there is a fire, could it impact local schools or students at Grand Valley?
- Is there research to show what happens with fumes from a fire?
- Are school districts aware of the potential impact?
Democrats Stripped Local Control
In 2023 the Democrats in Lansing passed a bad law that strips local control for approving these types of projects from the township level, and created a system that allows the state to approve them. Due to this bad law, stopping solar, wind, and battery projects is difficult.
Blendon Township citizens are asking the Blendon board members to oppose and delay the project. When Key Capture started the project, they promised the Blendon Township board an upfront payment of $200,000, plus more money in tax revenue.
Many people have asked why this is happening. Unfortunately, power companies like Consumers, DTE, and Key Capture are incentivized by the State of Michigan. Governor Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan is pushing “intermittent” power sources (e.g. – unreliable), and demanding power companies shut down base load energy sources like coal power plants. The Democrats are prioritizing what they call “equity and environmental justice” over reliable energy.
According to Democrats, Michigan needs hundreds of battery storage facilities across Michigan because they are phasing out reliable power sources like the J.H. Campbell plant. As solar and wind facilities are built, and base load energy is reduced, the energy grid will become less stable, and the need for battery backup will increase. Battery storage like the Blendon BESS can provide about 4 hours of power to the grid.
Local Control
Government, especially local government, is charged with protecting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This includes actively working with citizens to oppose dangerous lithium battery storage.
As a rural farm community, we need to remind elected leaders to prioritize farmland and public safety in their decision-making, especially when foreign-owned companies want to install battery plants. At the same time, remember our duty to control our tongues (Ephesians 4:29-31) and focus on the truth.
Since the Democrats in Lansing changed laws in 2023 to try to remove local decision-making on these projects, it has caused chaos at the local level. This is bad policy, and should be repealed. It’s almost like this law was designed to cause chaos.
What’s Next
I will continue to investigate and report back. I am working to understand the details of the situation. The facts matter. Someone reminded me today: “Stand for truth, say it in love.” Please make that your modus operandi as you work on these issues! This is especially true in Blendon, where we are a tight-knit community of Christians, Conservatives, and Farmers.
Get Involved
- Citizens should call, email, and visit the Blendon Township Board to voice your opinons. Stand firm, but also remember Ephesians 4:29-31. (See LINK for Blendon info)
- Citizens should attend the next Blendon Township board meeting on September 15, 2025.
- The Blendon Township Board should prioritize its citizens, farms, and farmland, not lithium battery farms.
- The Blendon Township Board should publicly ask citizens how they can serve the residents, and then go to bat for them as representatives.
If you’d like more information, there is a Facebook group called Blendon Bulletin you can visit.
Learn more about the Democrats’ Climate Plan:
Read the details here: https://www.michigan.gov/egle/about/organization/climate-and-energy/mi-healthy-climate-plan
The photos below are from Whitmer’s official state Climate Plan.
