Case File · Green Charter Township, Michigan
$2.4 billion. Then the politics detonated it.
Michigan backed Gotion's $2.4 billion EV battery project with up to $175 million in incentives and 2,350 promised jobs. The site was selected in 2023, a November 2023 recall flipped the township board, Gotion sued in 2024, the state issued a default notice in September 2025, and MEDC demanded the return of $23.7 million on January 30, 2026. The Sixth Circuit later dismissed the appeal as moot after the project became nonviable.
Cited site read: 18/100 before the first incentive application was filed.
Big Rapids residents rally against the $2.4B Gotion battery plant as the project's political opposition intensifies
Bridge Michigan
$2.4B
Project Value
$175M
Incentives Pledged
Nov. 2023
Recall Election
$23.7M
Return Demand
18/100
Feasibility Score
Green Charter Township, Michigan · 2022–2026
The project that unraveled after approval.
September 2022
Michigan approves major incentive support
State officials approve major incentives and public support for Gotion's planned Michigan battery investment, which is later publicly framed as a $2.4 billion, 2,350-job project.
July–August 2023
Site is selected and development agreement is adopted
By mid-2023 the Big Rapids-area site is selected, and in August 2023 Green Charter Township adopts the development agreement that moves the project into implementation mode.
November 2023
Recall flips the township board
A recall election changes control of the township board, turning an already controversial project into an openly unstable political situation.
March–May 2024
Gotion sues and wins preliminary injunctive relief
After the recalled board begins interfering with the project, Gotion sues township officials. In May 2024 the district court grants a preliminary injunction, and that order later heads to the Sixth Circuit.
September 17, 2025
MEDC issues default notice
State records show Michigan issued a default notice as the project continued to stall and the earlier investment narrative unraveled.
January 30, 2026
MEDC demands return of $23.7 million
Michigan formally demands the return of $23.7 million, confirming that the incentives were no longer safe simply because they had once been approved.
February 2026
Sixth Circuit dismisses appeal as moot
The Sixth Circuit dismisses the appeal as moot after the project becomes nonviable, closing the case without a merits win for the development.
The Political Break
Recall flipped the board after approval
This was not a clean up-front zoning impossibility. The project moved forward far enough to secure state backing and a development agreement, then politics turned the ground underneath it into quicksand.
The Community Signal
57.83% chose 'no growth' for heavy industrial
The township's own survey did not show a community eager for heavy industrial growth. That is not the same as a formal referendum, but it was a loud warning signal before the project matured.
The Incentive Risk
$23.7M return demand in January 2026
State support looked locked in until the project stalled badly enough for Michigan to issue a default notice and later demand money back. Incentive approval was not the end of the story.
The Litigation Lesson
Development agreement did not end the fight
After the recall, Gotion sued the township, won preliminary injunctive relief, and still ended up in a moot appeal once the project became nonviable. Early paper approvals did not make the site stable.
“What if you could see an 18/100 before the state pledged $175 million?”
The Pre-Filing Research
What RealClear finds at 18300 220th Street.
Before a single incentive dollar is committed. Before the township organizes. Before $175 million becomes a clawback target.
Site Analysis
18300 220th Street
Green Charter Township, Mecosta County, MI
Community Opposition
Foreign Ownership Risk
Township Litigation
Project Status
Critical Risk — Post-Approval Political Reversal
Early state support and a development agreement did not make this site bankable. After the November 2023 recall, the project slid into litigation, state default, and a moot appeal once it became nonviable.
Recommendation
DO NOT TREAT EARLY APPROVALS AS PROOF OF FEASIBILITY. Recall risk, litigation, and incentive fragility made this an 18/100 project even after the state and developer had already committed heavily.
The Pre-Flight Checklist
Five source-record factors. All publicly available.
Every factor that killed this project existed in public records before the first incentive application. RealClear reads those records so your team doesn't spend three years finding out.
Chinese ownership was a political risk, not a magic legal shortcut
Zoning reviewOwnership and geopolitical scrutiny were plainly going to dominate this project's politics in Michigan. That did not create a clean one-line legal disqualification, but it absolutely changed the risk profile.
Township survey showed weak support for heavy industrial growth
Community risk reviewThe Green Charter Township survey showed 57.83% selecting 'no growth' for heavy industrial development, with only 11.30% selecting 'encourage growth.' That was a blunt signal that the community base for a mega-factory was weak.
Recall risk in a small township could upend the deal
Approval path reviewA small-jurisdiction project can look approved and still be politically fragile if the governing board can change quickly. Once the recall succeeded, the project entered a very different reality.
Development agreements and injunctions do not erase execution risk
Comparable outcomes reviewThe project made it far enough to generate a development agreement and a federal appellate fight, and it still fell apart. That is exactly why 'approved' and 'bankable' are not the same thing.
State incentives can default when the project stalls
Comparable outcomes reviewThe default notice and January 2026 return demand show the last trap in the process: even after political leaders celebrate a deal, the money can still come back off the table if the project stops moving.
The total cost of this entitlement failure:
A high-profile project, years of legal and political conflict, a default notice, and a $23.7 million return demand. The lesson is not that the site was impossible on day one. It is that early approvals badly overstated how stable it really was.
A RealClear analysis costs less than one hour of attorney time.
Cited Brief
How RealClear built this assessment.
This source review is backed by a traceable source trail — real articles, real officials, real patterns.
News records reviewed
Officials identified
Comparable approvals reviewed
Opposition groups in record
Event Timeline
Key milestones in the entitlement journey
Sep 2022
Michigan grants are approved to support the project
Jul-Aug 2023
Gotion selects the site and Green Charter Township adopts the development agreement
Nov 2023
Recall election flips the board against the project
Late 2023
New board rescinds support resolutions tied to the project
Mar 2024
Gotion files federal breach of contract lawsuit
May 2024
Judge Beckering orders preliminary injunction
Sep 17, 2025
State issues notice of default over missed project activity milestones
Jan 30, 2026
State demands return of $23.7M already disbursed
Feb 25, 2026
Sixth Circuit dismisses injunction appeal as moot after Gotion says project is no longer viable
Sep 2022
Michigan grants are approved to support the project
Jul-Aug 2023
Gotion selects the site and Green Charter Township adopts the development agreement
Nov 2023
Recall election flips the board against the project
Late 2023
New board rescinds support resolutions tied to the project
Mar 2024
Gotion files federal breach of contract lawsuit
May 2024
Judge Beckering orders preliminary injunction
Sep 17, 2025
State issues notice of default over missed project activity milestones
Jan 30, 2026
State demands return of $23.7M already disbursed
Feb 25, 2026
Sixth Circuit dismisses injunction appeal as moot after Gotion says project is no longer viable
Key Actors
Decision-makers and their positions
Jim Chapman
Former Township Supervisor
Helped negotiate township support before the November 2023 recall election
Lori Gwizdala
New Township Supervisor
Elected on anti-Gotion platform, voted to rescind development agreement
Rep. John Moolenaar
U.S. Representative (R-MI)
Framed Gotion as CCP-linked national security threat in congressional hearings
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Michigan Governor
Supported the incentive package; the state later issued a default notice and repayment demand after project deadlines slipped
Judge Jane Beckering
U.S. District Judge, W.D. Mich.
Issued preliminary injunction May 2024, found township likely breached contract
Opposition Record
Organized opposition groups
Anti-Gotion recall organizers and township residents
Green Charter Township's master-plan survey showed 57.83% selecting 'no growth' for heavy industrial development and only 11.30% selecting 'encouraged'
Tactics
Recall campaign, board takeover, public meetings, foreign-ownership framing
Track Record
Flipped the board in Nov. 2023 and helped turn the project into a contract and funding fight
Engagement Strategy
Price board-control risk and project-milestone risk from day one. Transparency on ownership and state-funding dependencies is essential, but it does not neutralize a hostile board.
Risk Triggers
What activates opposition
- Chinese ownership becoming a dominant political issue
- Large-scale industrial use in a rural township
- State incentives committed before local politics stabilized
- Board-control election risk
Potential Allies
Groups that may support the project
Michigan Economic Development Corp
State economic development
$175M in committed incentives and 2,350 jobs
Building trades unions
Jobs coalition
Construction employment during build phase
Jurisdiction Pattern
What history tells us about this jurisdiction
Approval history
0 of 1 EV battery plant proposals advanced in Mecosta County
Recent Shifts
Township enacted interim zoning ordinance specifically to block industrial development after Gotion announcement
Source read
The failure here was not a clean initial zoning denial. It was post-agreement political reversal, followed by state-funding default that made the injunction fight moot.
Cited research compiled from the Sixth Circuit opinion, the preliminary injunction order, the federal docket, Green Charter Township survey materials, and supporting reporting on the default and repayment demand.
A signed development agreement collapsed into a federal lawsuit and, by February 2026, a Sixth Circuit mootness dismissal.
Michigan's incentive package and Green Charter Township's July–August 2023 development agreement were followed by a November 2023 board-recall election, reversal of township support resolutions, a March 2024 Gotion breach-of-contract suit, a May 2024 preliminary injunction, and — after the state's September 2025 default notice and January 2026 repayment demand — a Sixth Circuit dismissal of the appeal as moot after Gotion said the project was no longer viable. The township's own master-plan survey carried the critical-stance signal in the record: 57.83% selected 'no growth' for heavy industrial development.
Theme distribution
How this was assembled: Every source record ties to a public source you can verify yourself — news coverage, hearing records, court filings, public testimony. No scraped gated platforms, no invented engagement numbers, no attributions that aren’t on the page. RealClear surfaces source records; your team decides. See our methodology for the full sourcing standard.
Primary Source Documents
13 DocumentsEvery finding cited to the source. Click any document to preview it directly. Source-record patterns visible to experienced entitlement analysts months before the hearing.
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Cited research summary · Not legal advice · Verify independently before making investment decisions