ST. CLAIR COUNTY – County officials in Michigan’s Thumb face a lawsuit from the state’s largest electric utility after they placed new restrictions on solar farms, claiming noise and “visual pollution” from the arrays endanger public health.

DTE Electric Co. sued St. Clair County on July 3, challenging its unique use of county health department rules to impose limits on big solar farms and grid-scale battery installations, which county officials believe is a first in Michigan, MLIVE reports .

DTE argues the new requirements amount to zoning regulations illegally masquerading as public health protections. The county medical director’s justification for the rules “was not supported by any scientific or medical evidence,” the utility’s lawsuit reads.

The county has pledged to fight the l

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