Posted on 11/29/2023 7:08:59 AM PST by Red Badger
On November 28, Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer signed bills that will revamp electricity generation in the state.
The new measures include a requirement for utilities to achieve a 100% clean energy standard by 2040. The measures also transfer authority over large-scale wind and solar projects from local governments to the state’s Public Service Commission.
Whitmer emphasized that Michigan is well-equipped, both in terms of its workforce and the newly enacted legislation, to foster robust economic growth in the clean energy sector. The impact of the new laws will be felt in areas such as project locations, electricity sources, and power bills, though there is disagreement about the financial implications.
Whitmer claimed that the measures would lead to a $145 annual reduction in household energy costs. Meanwhile, Republicans argued that banning fossil fuels in Michigan would make life more expensive, as renewable project costs would be passed on to customers.
Whitmer is basing her optimism on the projected decline in the cost of renewable energy generation. A UK study earlier this year forecasted that solar generation costs would decline 60% between 2020 and 2050.
The 100% clean energy requirement
According to The Detroit News, the bills will require Michigan utilities to obtain 80% of their power from clean energy sources between 2035 and 2039. By 2040, the Michigan grid must be 100% clean, and fossil fuels will be banned.
The legislation defines renewable sources like wind and solar as clean energy sources. Other power sources that are considered clean include nuclear power and natural gas systems with high carbon capture capabilities. Natural gas systems must be able to capture at least 90% of their emissions to be considered clean.
The laws have attracted criticism from environmental groups for their endorsement of carbon capture technology. Many environmentalists consider carbon capture to be an impractical solution to climate change.
Last week, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that companies will need to spend $3.5 trillion on carbon capture to limit global warming. This is equivalent to the global oil and gas industry’s entire annual sales.
Simplifying clean energy project approval
The bills also streamline the process for launching large-scale wind and solar projects across Michigan. State officials view the growing opposition at the local level, particularly in rural areas, as a significant obstacle to the clean energy transition.
At present, local government entities such as townships, cities, and counties possess the authority to establish zoning regulations and other policies that impede the development of large wind and solar projects within their jurisdictions.
This has been a recurring issue in Michigan, as demonstrated in Keene Township in Ionia County. Township officials, who previously supported a solar project capable of generating 100 megawatts of energy across 500 acres, were subjected to a recall earlier this year.
The new laws grant the Michigan Public Service Commission, a state-level entity composed of three appointees of the governor, the authority to approve large-scale wind and solar projects. This provides developers with an alternative route to bypass resistance at the local level.
Critics argue that these changes will erode local control. However, proponents believe they will protect personal property rights, allowing landowners who wish to host wind and solar projects to proceed without obstruction.
Ban Whitmer instead.
This explains her present-day brain damage.
Whitmer and her co-conspirators know what they're doing. Their destructive acts are deliberately evil.
Why 2024? She’ll be an old lady on Social Security at that time. Why doesn’t the ho ban fossil fuels tomorrow?
sever Michigan from the rest of the US power grid! and lets see how successful they are!
A WHOLE STATE (including the U.P.) has to suffer because one moron gets elected and is under the sway of some seriously shadowy forces. I doubt she read the whole thing, let alone having penned a single word of it. She will rubber stamp it and make a photo-op out of it along with the cohorts and handlers who are the front of the deeper conspiracy against the people of MI.
WHITMER makes Detroit auto industry look like the Packard building.
That One Hundred megawatts (and I don't believe them), not One Thousand. That's approximately one tenth the power output of a normal thermal power station ... and the thermal power station can generate that One Thousand Megawatts 24/7/365 regardless of the weather.
Whitmer and her accomplices in the legislature are evil.
Think of the juxtaposition of political ideas versus reality in Michigan.
The Governor signs a bill to eliminate fossil fuel in Michigan by 2040, which is 16 years away, this in a state which is the home of the Auto Industry that is losing billions trying to sell EVs., in fact the Big 3 are shutting down their EV production to sell ICE cars which can be sold for a profit, while the big 3 are now faced with a huge new UAW contract.
Gosh, shouldn’t we wait for technology to give us an alternative before abandoning the energy we need to live?
Why would GM and Ford stay in Michigan?
Wonder if she knows her clothes are made from petroleum products?
“…bypass resistance at the local level.”
TYRANNY! DICTATORSHIP!!
These people are COMPLETE MORONS, everything we touch has petroleum involved in one way or another this DESTRUCTION of America is deliberate and our most dangerous enemies are from within!!!
Good luck with that! 😂🤣😂🤣🤣😂
“You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.” - Ayn Rand.............
The Michigan state legislature and the governor have givin aid and comfort to the domestic and foreign enemies of the United States. Michigan is now a terrorist Demonicrat kakistocracy.
“Fix the damn(ed) brain!”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.