Daily on Energy: More on Whitmer’s plan for 100% clean energy in Michigan
by Nancy Vu, Energy and Environment Reporter
September 01, 2023 01:37 PM
MORE ON WHITMER’S PLAN: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is calling for a 100% clean energy standard to be passed by state lawmakers – here’s a bit more from the big news this week…
What’s ahead: Currently, Democrats control both chambers of the state legislature, 20-18 in the Senate and 56-54 in the House. Senate Democrats, who have already released their own clean energy plan, are currently working with House Democrats as the lower chamber drafts its own bill.
“We know that the House is also working on clean energy bills, and we’ve been having a lot of conversations with them to make sure that we understand their concerns and that their input is also being taken into account,” said Democratic Sen. Sue Shink, one of two lawmakers who introduced the Senate’s “Clean Energy Future Plan.”
When Nancy asked what those “concerns” were, the senator did not further elaborate, and said that negotiations are currently ongoing. The state legislature is out this week, but is slated to return next week.
The Senate proposal: While we won’t be able to tell you what’s in the House bill, we can certainly draw breadcrumbs from recent proposals that have been introduced. Senate Democrats have introduced their own package that’s even more aggressive than the governor’s proposal. It would phase-out coal-fired electricity generating plants and require utilities to meet the state’s electricity needs using 60% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% clean energy by 2035. The bill would count “approved nuclear energy” as part of the proposal.
Whitmer’s proposal: The Democratic governor released her own climate plan in April 2021 – and the Senate proposal, which was released two years after the governor’s, mirrors much of what Whitmer previously laid out. Her plan calls for generating 60% of the state’s electricity from renewable sources, phasing out remaining coal-fired power plants by 2030, and committing Michigan to economy-wide carbon neutrality no later than 2050. The governor’s proposal would explore the use of carbon capture and storage in situations where “eliminating the use of fossil fuels is impossible or cost-prohibitive,” and for entities attempting to go carbon negative in their operations. The plan also mentions Michigan benefiting from a “diverse” power sector that includes nuclear power plants.
State of play: When asked what the likelihood was for a bill passing, Shrink asserted that the chances were “very good.”
“Right now, I’m not aware of any active opposition to it,” she said.
The GOP pushback: Republicans, on the other hand, have pounced on the proposal as a Michigan “Green New Deal” that makes energy more expensive for voters – especially during a time where the state is facing reliability issues as storms and tornadoes fly though towns.
“People have been out of power for four or five days,” Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt told Nancy. “Instead of talking about bearing electric lines or hardening the grid, they’re looking at going to a California-style energy plan that could lead to rolling blackouts here in Michigan.”
Nesbitt said that the party plans on using these proposals to campaign against Democrats as the Michigan state House is up for reelection in 2024 – which could potentially affect the political calculus for passage under the House’s slim majority, depending on when the package stands for a vote in the House.
“I think there’s an opportunity to find one moderate Democrat in the House chamber, but they’re gonna have to step up and show that,” said Nesbitt.
