Whitmer touts 100% clean energy standard, doesn’t mention nuclear

Governor’s plan to push solar and wind could be elevated to state law this fall

By James David Dickson | September 1, 2023

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pushed lawmakers to adopt a 100% renewable energy standard for Michigan during her policy speech Wednesday. The proposal is in line with the MI Healthy Climate Plan the governor issued last year, but it appears to leave out the only significant source of emissions-free energy.

“Let's enact a 100% clean energy standard for Michigan,” Whitmer said, standing before a message board with two large windmills on it. “This means all the energy we produce will be from wind, solar or other common-sense energy sources.”

Whitmer has supported nuclear energy in the past, but it was a notable omission from her speech. Whitmer successfully sought federal funding to get the Palisades nuclear plant in southwest Michigan back online. Palisades supplied as much as 15% of Michigan’s renewable energy at one point.

But the bill that comes closest to Whitmer’s 100% renewable standard takes two different positions on nuclear energy. Senate Bill 271 would require Michigan energy companies to run on 100% renewables by 2035.

Prior to 2035, nuclear energy is not considered renewable. From 2035 and onward, it would be.

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.

Michigan energy regulator considers penalties for mass power outages

Public asked to weigh in on proposals to punish Michigan utilities for poor performance

By James David Dickson | August 31, 2023

When Michigan has power outages, they are more widespread and last longer than the power outages in other states. To combat this, the Michigan Public Service Commission on Wednesday announced the start of a process that could punish energy companies for poor performance. And it’s asking for the public’s help shaping that process.

“The commission remains concerned that Michigan’s utilities continue to perform in the 4th quartile on key reliability metrics, particularly outage duration,” the commission wrote when announcing the proposal. “Furthermore, certain customers experience worse service reliability than system-wide measures would indicate.”

Pictured below is a partial list of the incentives and disincentives being considered by Michigan’s energy regulator:

The idea is to tie utility companies’ financial metrics to their performance, Dan Scripps, chair of the commission, said in a statement.

“We share the public’s frustration with the number and duration of power outages, and particularly those who experience outages over and over again,” Scripps said. “By focusing on the places where improvement is needed most, we’re working to better connect the financial performance of the utilities with the experience of their customers.”

The public comment period for Case No U-21400 ends on 5 p.m. on Sept. 22.

More than half a million homes and businesses in Michigan lost power after last week’s storms. Most of the outages took place in either DTE Energy or Consumers Energy turf in the Lower Peninsula.

This included the governor’s residence, which was without power as recently as Monday.