A Republican-sponsored bill in the Michigan Legislature would put a cap on how much of the state's energy can be generated by solar power, and restrict where solar farms can be built and how much generating capacity they can have.
The bill would cap the state's solar energy production at 20% of the grid, and would bar new solar arrays from being built in places where, for example, "clear-cutting of densely forested public land has occurred for the purpose of solar development."
Environmental groups, like the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club, criticized the proposal. “It is encouraging for us to see the republican party in Michigan want to engage in discussion with community solar and with solar legislation,” said Nora Naughton, a spokesperson for the group. “This just isn’t the bill.”
Naughton said the 20% cap would be an unnecessary restriction that could potentially prevent Michigan’s from reaching its goal, enacted in a state law in 2023, of reaching 100% clean energy generation by 2040.
“Removing any options, especially in this early stage of switching to more reliable clean energy, would certainly make it harder,” Naughton said. “We don't want to take any options off the table.”
Michigan House Republicans said in a press release that the cap would prevent “a reckless overbuild of solar at the expense of ratepayers and reliability” and would protect Michigan’s grid from “instability.”
Naughton said these protections have already been built into the clean energy bills passed in 2023. “The guidelines already exist. We don't need to put an arbitrary cap on these things."
The bill’s main sponsor, Greg Markkanen (R-Hancock), called the plan “a true conservative alternative to radical energy mandates," saying it "puts Michigan families, workers, and landowners first – without government coercion or foreign dependency."
Katie Carey, a spokesperson for Consumers Energy, one of the state's largest electricity providers, said the company does not not support the bill because it would add a cost burden to their customers.
She said a proposed 10% savings in the bill on power from third-party locally distributed shared solar facilities — also known as "community solar" — would raise rates for people who aren't getting their power from those facilities.
“Not only does this force nonparticipating customers to pay more, but it also means that community solar subscribers are able to avoid paying their fair share of the costs to support the electric grid and the generation resources that ensure there is adequate power any time, day or night,” Carey said in a statement.
The bill is called "Maximizing American Grid Affordability," or MAGA — the same acronym as President Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. It's being considered by the House Energy Committee.
Editor's note: Consumers Energy is among Michigan Public's corporate sponsors.
