New Clean Energy Legislation in Michigan

Recently in 2023, the Michigan Legislature enacted a series of new laws that were commonly referred to as the Clean Energy Future Plan of 2023. These laws include Public Act 229, Public Act 230, Public Act 231, Public Act 232, Public Act 233, Public Act 234, and Public Act 235. Highlights from these new laws include:

• Public Act 229 addresses the Energy Waste and Reduction (EWR) program in Michigan and requires the utilities to increase their mandatory electrical energy-efficiency savings from 1% to 1.5% with financial incentives for the utilities to go beyond the 1.5% goal. 

• Public Act 231 expands the Michigan Public Service Commission’s authority to evaluate Integrated Resource Plans that are submitted by the utilities. The Commission can now take into consideration new factors, including the impact on green-house gas emissions, environmental justice concerns, impact on human health and the affordability of energy. 

• Public Act 232 creates the Community and Worker Economic Transition Act, which creates a single state entity to develop a plan and coordinate efforts to address the impact on workers and communities with the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy resources. 

• Public Act 233 establishes that for solar projects of 50 megawatts or more, for wind projects 100 megawatts or more, or energy storage projects of 50 megawatts or more, the developer can obtain the necessary approval to build from the Michigan Public Service Commission.  

• Public Act 235 amends the Clean and Renewable Energy and Energy Waste Reduction Act (Public Act 295 of 2008). This Act increases the Renewable Energy Portfolio from 15% to 50% and the utilities must meet this new standard by 2030 and then to 60% by 2035 and each year thereafter. Renewable Energy is defined as energy derived from solar, wind or water. This means that the percentage of electricity generated from solar and wind by the utilities must dramatically increase. In addition, this Act requires the regulated utilities to meet a new Clean Energy Standard of 80% by 2035 and then 100% by 2040. The Clean Energy Standard is defined as renewable energy, nuclear energy and natural gas, but only if 90% of the carbon emissions from that natural gas power-plant is captured and sequestered.  

• Public Act 235 also increased the Distributed Generation Cap from 1% to 10% of a utility’s average in-state peak load for the proceeding five calendar years. The 10% Cap is allocated with 50% of the Cap for customers with a solar system generating 20 kilowatts or less and 50% for customers generating more than 20 kilowatts but not more than 550 kilowatts. A customer can also install a solar energy system with a generation capacity of 110% of the customer's electricity consumption for the previous 12 months. This provides homeowners and businesses the ability to build a larger solar system to account for an increased need in electricity for when a person plans to buy an electric vehicle, for example. 

For more information on other public acts, please visit: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2023-2024/publicacttable/pdf/2023-PAT.pdf