House Republicans want to eliminate Michigan’s clean energy law requiring 100% renewable power by 2040.

A second bill would also limit distributed energy sources, such as rooftop solar, to just 1% of a utility’s total energy sales. Democrats say that amounts to a ban on community solar programs like Ann Arbor’s Solarize, where neighbors group together to buy solar panels at bulk discounts.

Ann Arbor solar installations jumped from 17 per year to 180 after the Solarize program launched. The 1% cap could hurt that growth.

Republican Rep. Pauline Wendzel says her bill puts “reliability and affordability first.” 

On the other side of the aisle, Democratic Rep. Tonya Myers Phillips points to utilities and their frequent rate increases as the problem behind high energy bills.

Reporter Kyle Davidson from Michigan Advance joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss the battle over energy costs.

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In 2019, Michigan’s largest utility ended what’s called net metering. That meant if you had solar panels, you no longer got full credit for the extra energy you sent back to the grid. So, instead of getting a dollar’s worth of credit, you might get 30 cents.

But in Ann Arbor, this didn’t slow down rooftop solar, or make it less attractive financially. Solar installations exploded there —from 17 per year before 2019 to 180 per year since 2020.

This is partly because of a program called Solarize — neighbors banding together to get group discounts on solar installations. Now it has spread across metro Detroit.

Julie Roth launched Solarize. Today, she’s the energy manager at the city of Ann Arbor’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations. She spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent.

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In 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed one of the most aggressive clean energy laws in the country — requiring Michigan utilities to hit 50% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% clean electricity by 2040. That plan assumed federal policy would be moving in the same direction. Things like federal tax credits, Environmental Protection Agency regulations, and infrastructure money for electric vehicles were anticipated to follow.

But that’s not what’s happening now. Last week, the Trump administration revoked the EPA’s ability to regulate pollution.

What does that decision mean for Michigan? What does it mean for DTE and Consumers Energy, which are both tasked with transitioning to clean energy sources instead of relying on things like natural gas?

Liesl Clark is the director of climate action engagement for the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability. She also used to run the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. 

The Metro‘s Sam Corey spoke with the director about the president’s actions and what she would recommend the state do now.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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