UPDATE: Noisy Helicopter Work Planned for Holiday Weekend Near Battery Expansion Project Postponed

HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Sept. 1, 2023) – If the squeaky wheel gets the grease, as the old saw goes, then what does the loud helicopter get?

On Thursday, the Holland Department of Public Safety felt compelled  to issue an advisory of such a deployment over the Labor Day holiday weekend. According to Captain of Administrative Services Bob Buursma, LG Energy Solutions was slated to utilize helicopters from Saturday through Monday over their site off of 146^th Avenue east of Waverly Road. The Korean-based company that builds lithium-ion batteries at that location had notified authorities that, “The trained pilots will fly the helicopters from West Michigan Airport to our expansion project in Holland. They will safely take off and land, lifting equipment from our construction site. The work may be noisy for the area, and we apologize for any inconvenience.”

On Friday morning, Buursma sent out an update, saying that, “LG Energy Solutions has postponed the lift. It is now scheduled for September 16 and 17 and then the following weekend, September 23-25.”

The work, which will run from between eight and 10 hours each day, should begin about 30 minutes after dawn, and the necessary legal permits have been obtained for the project, according to Buursma.