Residents at Ottawa County meeting urge commissioners to revisit support for Campbell power plant

Roger Neiman, a Holland Township resident and constituent of Commissioner Harris, told the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 18 that the county should press the Michigan Public Service Commission to postpone emergency orders keeping the Campbell power plant operating. "Consumer energy...compensated daily cost of nearly $615,000 a year," Neiman said, adding that continued emergency renewals could push additional costs he described as "in the neighborhood of $200,000,000" onto consumers through future rate hikes. He also said his family lives about seven miles from the plant and that, for residents with respiratory conditions, coal-fired generation presents a heightened health risk.

Another member of the public, Peter Beaudart of Zeeland, said the county's February 2025 endorsement for continued operation should be rescinded. He framed the issue as part of a broader energy transition, saying coal has been "overtaken by cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable sources of energy" and urging the board not to delay a move to alternatives such as wind, solar and battery storage.

Both speakers asked the board to revisit the commission's February resolution; neither requested a specific county-level ordinance, and no formal motion or vote was recorded during the meeting. The board did not take action on energy policy at the Dec. 18 session and moved next to a governance presentation by MSU Extension.

The figures and claims cited by public speakers were presented as their assertions during comment. The county did not verify the cost estimates or the public-health calculations during the meeting. In the transcript the power plant is consistently referred to as the "Campbell" plant by some speakers and as a different term by other speakers; that inconsistency is noted here as presented in the public comments.