LANSING – The Michigan House of Representatives today sent to the Senate an aggressive plan that will create jobs quickly and bring major investment to Michigan's communities by establishing that at least 10 percent of Michigan's electricity will come from renewable sources by 2015. House Democrats strengthened a weaker plan sent to the House by the Republican-controlled Senate.
"Michigan has to be aggressive about showing employers in the rapidly growing renewable energy industry that we can supply the demand that makes it worthwhile to come here and create jobs for our workers," said State Representative Jeff Mayes (D-Bay City), Vice Chair of the House Energy and Technology Committee. "By setting a serious yet realistic renewable energy standard of 10 percent, my colleagues and I are keeping Michigan competitive with all the states that are already ahead of us. As we fight to turn our economy around, we simply cannot afford to lose thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in investment."
The House plan approved today requires that the state gradually increase the amount of electricity that comes from renewable sources such as wind and biomass, reaching 10 percent by 2015. The Senate plan, in contrast, sets this Renewable Portfolio Standard at just 7 percent – a level that analysts agree is too low to cause renewable energy job providers to seriously consider making major investments in Michigan.
The weaker Senate plan also dilutes the true intention of a Renewable Portfolio Standard by allowing 30 percent of the target to be met through energy efficiency programs and 20 percent to be met through "clean energy systems," which could include "clean coal." The House energy plan includes a separate comprehensive energy efficiency plan and reforms that clear the way for the construction of new power plants if necessary.
"The purpose of a Renewable Portfolio Standard is to attract new renewable energy jobs and economic development to Michigan," said State Representative Kathy Angerer (D-Dundee). "Unfortunately, the standard set by the Sentate plan is so low and contains so many loopholes that it has lost its power to make Michigan a leader in this area. I am hopeful that we can all work together to quickly come up with a meaningful plan, quickly, that enables Michigan to secure its share of this globally growing industry."