Michigan Improving Renewable Energy Targets

House Bills 5120-5123, filed Tuesday, would change the approval process for large wind and solar arrays, shifting authority from local government to the state Public Service Commission. 

It’s a move designed to speed up permitting, preventing local resistance from stalling or blocking renewable energy projects across the state.

Floyd Robertson wrote:Also seeking to improve the approval process/timeline by taking decision out of local hands. I think we covered this elsewhere but I can't find it. I have mixed emotions about this.

With tensions rising, Michigan Democrats unveil clean energy reforms

House Bills 5120-5123, filed Tuesday, would change the approval process for large wind and solar arrays, shifting authority from local government to the state Public Service Commission. 

It’s a move designed to speed up permitting, preventing local resistance from stalling or blocking renewable energy projects across the state.

Zurn wrote:It's 100% clouds today in SE MI and the current wind speed is zero.

Where would my power come from today factoring a 20% needed increase in needed electricity to charge the mandated EVs?

Trapper Gus wrote:  The grid has the ability to supply more than twice the power per 24 hours than it does right now, which is more than enough for 100% EV's.

Zurn wrote:

Trapper Gus wrote:  The grid has the ability to supply more than twice the power per 24 hours than it does right now, which is more than enough for 100% EV's.

So the electric companies are operating at 50% capacity.   Stupid of them to give me a break on my bill if I let them control my AC during the summer.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan is on the verge of implementing one of the nation’s most ambitious clean energy mandates, aiming to be carbon-free by 2040 in what is a pivotal test of the Democrats’ environmental goals in a state with a long-standing manufacturing legacy.

Michigan will join four other states in requiring utility providers to transition to 100% carbon-free energy generation by 2040 under legislation that will soon be signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer The state has also set a goal for utilities to generate 50% of their energy from renewable sources by 2030, a significant leap from the current 12%.

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers on Friday approved summary language for a proposed ballot initiative that aims to repeal a law that allows the state to override local rejections of large wind and solar projects.

The bipartisan board’s 4-0 vote clears the way for the group Citizens for Local Choice to begin gathering signatures in hopes of reversing Public Act 233, a law passed in November that established statewide permitting standards for large-scale renewable energy projects that had previously been permitted at the local level.

Citizens for Local Choice is fighting the law because “it completely takes away local control,” said Andrea Hansen, an attorney representing the group. “The locals should be more involved in something at this scale in their community.”

The Michigan Public Service Commission is gathering public input on a controversial new law, Public Act 233, which gives it final authority in approving large renewable energy projects.

“We want to make sure that we're doing it in an open and transparent way, that we're relying on the expertise of local governments, of planners and others, and really providing opportunities for the public to input into the process and share their views,” said commission Chair Dan Scripps.

ast fall, Michigan lawmakers narrowly passed a set of climate bills that accelerate the state’s transition to clean and renewable energy.

Earlier this month the commission laid out its plans to implement that legislation, including larger energy waste reduction goals and requiring utilities to generate at least 50% of their energy from renewable sources by 2030 and 60% by 2035.

The process has to start at the local level if there is a renewable energy ordinance compatible with the state’s provisions, Scripps said. But developers can apply for siting approval through the public service commission directly in some instances, like if a local government has a moratorium on projects. If it denies a project or doesn’t make a decision within the time set by the legislation, for example, the company can also file an application with the commission.

Across the country, electric demand is growing and could explode if green goals like electrifying home heating, industry and transportation come to fruition. At the same time, many states, utilities and businesses have pledged to decarbonize, helping push older coal and gas power plants that have struggled to stay economically competitive into retirement.

Yet in the queues run by the organizations that manage the electric grid in much of the nation, more than two million megawatts of potential new power sources, chiefly solar, wind and batteries, are languishing awaiting interconnection studies.

That dynamic prompted Advanced Energy United, a trade group representing clean energy businesses, to publish a first-of-its-kind scorecard grading how well the seven regional transmission organizations, which coordinate the flow of electricity for roughly two thirds of American electric customers, are doing at getting new projects approved to connect to their grids.

The short answer? Not so great. But some regions have been better than others, according to Caitlin Marquis, managing director at AEU. Both the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the California Independent System Operator, organizations that manage the grid in most of their respective states, got Bs. The other five organizations got grades of C- or lower.