The Spread of Solar: Community Members Voice Their Concerns

November 25, 2024 Bonnie Lord Arts/Culture, Comics, Community, Features 2

A watercolor illustration of a house standing next to a solar field.

Read the “prologue” of this series to learn more about the value of comics in journalism.

Read part one of this series to learn more about the history and economic impacts of solar development in Sheridan Township.

In the first section of comics, the first panel shows a watercolor illustration of an older man wearing a sweater and a camouflage baseball cap. The second panel shows a map of the southwestern corner of Sheridan Township, with an arrow pointing to a starred location. The third panel shows a watercolor illustration of a house surrounded by trees, with some trees falling. A pop-up-bubble reads "CRASH!" In the fourth panel, a watercolor illustration shows a man looking out a window, surprised and concerned.

In the second section of comics, the first panel shows a watercolor illustration of several pine trees. The second panel shows a watercolor illustration of a woman with long blonde hair, wearing a black turtleneck. The third panel shows a watercolor illustration of a several-page document. The fourth panel shows a watercolor illustration of the silhouette of a man wearing a baseball cap speaking.

In the third section of comics, the first panel shows a watercolor illustration of a farm field, compared with the fourth panel next to it, which shows a field of solar panels. The third panel shows a watercolor illustration of an older woman sitting in a chair, speaking. The fourth panel shows a man wearing a baseball cap and and a safety vest walking through a solar field, speaking.

In the fourth section of comics, the first panel shows a watercolor illustration of the ground beneath a solar panel, with a man speaking in a cutout in the corner, weating a baseball cap and a safety vest. Beside blocks of text below this panel, watercolor illustrations of a few photographs on one side and jars filled with soil on the other. In the final panel, a watercolor illustration of a man wearing a sweater and a camouflage baseball cap speaking on one side, and a ragged tree stump on the other.

In the fifth section of comics, the first panel shows a watercolor illustration of a serveral-page document showing a page of a thesis, with red arrows pointing to certain items on a list. The second panel shows a watercolor illustration of a man wearing a sweater and a camouflage baseball cap, speaking, with a red arrow moving down out of his speech bubble. The third panel shows a watercolor illustration of the view from a road, with two houses on either side and a solar field rolling across a field between them.

In the sixth section of comics, the first panel shows a watercolor illustration of a man wearing a sweater and a camouflage baseball cap speaking, and pointing behind him. The second panel shows a watercolor illustration of an older woman sitting in a chair and speaking. The third panel shows a watercolor illustration of a solar field, with an elevated hunting blind looking over the area. The fourth panel shows a watercolor illustration of the dark silhouette of two deer crossing a road at night.

In the final section of comics, the first panel shows a watercolor illustration of a woman driving a car, looking out the window. The second panel shows a watercolor illustration of two deer standing on either side of a fence, looking at the reader, washed in the light of headlights. The third panel shows a watercolor illustration of a house in the trees, next to the last panel showing a solar field, surrounded by trees.

The following sources were used in reporting for this article:

  1. For additional details about the solar company discussed in this article, find more about Calhoun County Solar on the Global Energy Monitor Wiki.
  2. To learn more about the community impacts of utility-scale solar, read Michigan State University graduate Jessica Crawford’s Master’s thesis, “Characterizing the Social Gap in Utility-Scale Solar Energy.”
  3. To learn more about the history and economic impacts of the solar development in Sheridan Township, as well as how the energy generated is used, read the previous edition of this series.
  4. Find more information about food insecurity in Albion from the Community Table of Albion’s website.
  5. For more details about SOLV Energy, find further information on their website.
  6. For more details about what a hunting stand or hunting blind it, find more information from Summit Outdoors’ blog.
About Bonnie Lord 56 Articles
Bonnie Lord is a junior from Alma, Michigan and is an environmental science major at Albion College. She is driven by community, justice and sustainability. She enjoys bird watching, reading and dismantling the patriarchy. Contact Bonnie via email at BFL10@albion.edu.

2 Comments

  2. Just fantastic storytelling. I’m so proud to be a Pleiad alum!

    Your series and this Bridge Michigan piece on placing solar arrays on remediated land (https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/deep-abandoned-mine-could-offer-hope-green-energy-fights) has me thinking: Could Albion try to work with solar companies to remediate its two Superfund sites in town for energy production? That’s dozens of acres of ugly, unused land that would surely benefit from solar, for aesthetic reasons and environmental reasons.

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