MSU Development

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Comments

  • I don't know if it is fair to say that they don't really care which city the campus is in. I assume by "campus" you are referring to the research parks. Being in Lansing though opens the doors for more incentives that East Lansing can't offer. In this case, putting a research park where Spartan Village was, in East Lansing, will not be as accessible to incentives as the current park.
  • edited January 2020
    Which, then, is why I don't get why they are building another one and in East Lansing. The University Corporate Research Park is not built out. East Lansing also has a higher total millage rate than Lansing.
  • I know we have talked a bit about this subject before, but wouldn't be a better situation for all the communities around the city to be incorporated into one Greater Lansing, with something like departments or boroughs where the smaller communities kept some of their local functions mayors councils, etc. then this would be one large city offering the same incentives tax rates and opportunities for building a business in Michigan's Capital City home to MSU. BTW I know this will probably never happen, but many folks already just say Lansing when asked where they are from even though it might be Delta Delphi Delhi or whatever township they live in. The Horrock's bags say Lansing as well as most hotel's titles that are not actually in the city. I think about this every time I drive Kalamazoo Street under 127 where Lansing Township just ignores the terrible condition of the street there.
    I think MSU may develop a "town center" type of development in this area, with research buildings surrounding a retail/ housing center? That is what I picked up on. It would be nice if everyone had a reason to go there. Research/office parks usually are places where only the people who work there go.
  • edited February 2020
    The MSU Board of Trustees has voted 7-0 to build a 100 acre solar farm on the northwest corner of Jolly and Hagadorn Roads. The solar farm will generate 20 MWac of power and save the university roughly $1 million per year.

    Here's the full map and some key details: https://www.scribd.com/document/447060734/MSU-solar-array-project#fullscreen&from_embed
    LSJ coverage: https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2020/02/14/msu-michigan-state-university-install-100-acre-solar-energy-array/4760386002/
  • Nice! Lansing is becoming quite a significant user of solar. The BWL has put up some massive fields over in Delta Township near the GM plant.
  • Also cool is that the land will still be used for sheep grazing and a pollinator habitat. I wonder how there will be enough light for the grass to grow for the sheep. Or maybe there will be enough spots without solar panels that enough grass will still be around.
  • edited February 2020
    I imagine they are rotating solar panels that track the sun. But even in the case that they aren't, grass can grow in low light, though maybe not as quickly. In fact, sheep are often used to control vegetation around solar panels since they are sometimes placed in a way that makes it difficult to use mowers.
    solar-farm-3-e1503610528627.jpg
    They also tell people to plant shortgrass to minimize weeds or tall grass that could obstruct panels.
    Nature always finds a way. :)
  • The depiction of the solar farm's layout looks like they leave quite a lot of open land in the pastures as well as some ponds and marshlands. Some grasses will grow with small amounts of light like the wheatgrass farmers plant to cover their fields in the winter. I grow wheatgrass for my cat under a small lamp.
  • I'm glad to see solar but I'm always much less excited to see it placed over green space. If they were going to take away green space I'd rather it be flat, boring farm land rather than the more unique area they chose. I kind of like the rolling pastures off of Hagadorn there.
  • edited February 2020
    Farms usually increase the cost of the land, and of course in the case of MSU they are literal teaching tools. Like any development, solar developers are going to look for the cheapest land they can find nearest where they need the array to be. But, it really depends on the particular piece of land. The Delta Solar Park near GM Delta Township Assembly is built on both vacant land and some farm land. But, usually, they are going to be looking for low-value vacant land and only add farms if there isn't enough contiguous vacant land.

    Anyway, what I like about this is that because there are wetlands on the site, they are clearly building around it. Wetlands are pretty heavily regulated by both the state and most local governments.
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