As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer prepares her 2024 State of the State address, did she accomplish her 2023 goals? Bridge Michigan analyzes the success of her priorities over the last year.
Lawmakers in November gave the state power to override local-level rejections of large wind and solar projects. Opponents of that law will soon start collecting signatures in hopes of sponsoring a November ballot measure to repeal it.
Michigan lawmakers made sweeping changes to Michigan energy laws last fall. But plenty of items missed the cut, from community solar to finding solutions for Michigan’s outage-prone power grid.
Over $5 million was awarded to three school districts, Detroit, Lansing and Pontiac to purchase clean-school buses that have little to no carbon emissions.
Opponents of the new law, which stripped away local permitting control over large wind and solar projects, are pushing a ballot initiative that would ask voters in November to overturn the law.
Less than one percent of the Great Lakes is currently covered by ice, a steep drop from historic levels. Climate change experts have been warning of its impacts for years, and this year we have El Niño as well.
Amid a push toward renewable energy in Michigan, taxpayers are subsidizing technology to turn animal feces into fuel. Opponents say it further subsidizes the growth of an industry responsible for widespread water pollution problems.
Declining hunting participation isn’t the only reason deer populations are skyrocketing. Blame suburban sprawl, a lack of hunting land in southern Michigan, a century-worth of predator suppression and the newer threat of climate change.
DTE Energy and Consumers Energy say their systems are more reliable after severe outages this year. But with extreme weather increasing from climate change, they’re looking at additional funding options such as customer surcharges or bonds.
Ahead of a gathering to assess the health of Lake Erie, the state acknowledges it won’t meet a 2025 deadline to cut phosphorus runoff into Lake Erie by 40 percent. The goal is to protect Lake Erie and Michigan’s small farms.
The transition to electric vehicles means we can’t continue to rely so heavily on gas taxes to pay for roads. But EV owners already pay more than their fair share. A mileage-based system, with some caveats, is a fairer path forward.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed clean energy bills in Detroit on Tuesday that aim to meet the goal of making the state 100 percent reliant on clean energy by midcentury.
The Democratic-led Legislature is adjourning after fulfilling much, but not all of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s fall agenda. Lawmakers passed energy and abortion reform but fell short on sick leave and drug affordability.
In a party-line vote, the Senate passed bills that establish statewide permitting rules for large renewable energy developments, an end-run around local efforts to block wind and solar proposals in Michigan. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign the legislation.
The claim that clean energy and agriculture are natural allies overlooks a fundamental reality: the substantial land requirement for renewable energy projects.
A divided Michigan House passes legislation requiring utilities to draw 100 percent of their energy from clean sources by 2040. That's a later timeline than environmentalists had sought — and foes say it will raise rates — but many say the reform is overdue.
Passed along party lines, the legislation would end local governments’ authority to approve or deny projects. Proponents say the change would end local controversies and jump-start clean energy. Foes say it’s anti-farm and heavy-handed.
A 136-turbine wind project in Isabella County is generating millions of dollars in revenue for the district, giving it access to the kinds of resources and amenities small rural school districts typically can’t afford.
Clean energy bills, aimed at combating climate change, are short on scientific research and dismissive of the rights of local residents and townships, making them deeply undemocratic.
