FLINT TWP, MI – A former General Motors landfill in Flint Township is on track to be redeveloped into a large-scale solar energy site, a project township officials say makes productive use of land long constrained by environmental limitations.
The Flint Township Planning Commission on Dec. 11 approved a special use permit allowing AC Power to pursue a solar installation on roughly 28 acres at 1200 S. Linden Road.
The site, which later saw limited use as recreational soccer fields, has been owned by Racer Trust for years before being sold to the solar developer.
Township officials said the proposal stood out because it avoids disturbing the soil on land once used as a landfill. The solar array will remain entirely above ground, a factor that made it a viable option for redevelopment on a brownfield property.
“Because of the use that it’s going to have, the solar farm is not going to disrupt the soils in any way,” Tracey Tucker, Flint Township’s economic enhancement director, told MLive/The Flint Journal. “So for a brownfield such as that that has hazardous conditions, that’s probably the highest, best use that we would be able to get without disturbing the soil.”
AC Power is a New York–based, woman-owned company that purchased the property from Racer Trust. Township officials helped guide the project through the early stages of the review process after being contacted about the site’s availability.
In addition to generating renewable energy, Tucker said the development brings an economic benefit by returning the long-vacant property to the tax rolls.
“And it gets it back on the tax roll,” she said.
Construction is not expected to begin immediately. Tucker said the soccer organization currently using the land is expected to remain on the site until about November 2026, after which development could move forward.
Planning Commission Chairman Larry Ford said the board weighed public concerns alongside the potential long-term benefits of the project.
“We have to protect our constituency, but we also have to be open for expansion,” Ford said during the meeting. “You heard me say we want to be business-user friendly and we do.”
Tucker said the solar project does not signal a broader push for similar developments at this time, noting the landfill site was one of the few remaining properties previously held by Racer Trust.
Additional approvals will still be required before final construction plans are completed.
The next Flint Township Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Jan. 8.