Displaying items tagged: Michigan Public Service Commission

COVERT TWP. — While the recent denial of funding to reopen the Palisades nuclear power plant handicaps Michigan’s short-term emission-reduction goals, the state’s top energy regulator says new federal laws will create additional clean energy opportunities.

Katherine Peretick was appointed to the Michigan Public Service Commission in 2021 for a term that expires in 2027. In that time, Michigan and other states are transitioning through a crucial moment for the energy and utility industries as hulking, centralized fossil fuel plants are displaced by clean energy technologies to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Environmental and ratepayer advocates are withholding their full-throated support for Consumers Energy’s new long-term energy plan that eliminates coal usage by 2025, citing concerns over potential rate effects and the scale of ongoing fossil fuel reliance.

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers has again proposed legislation backed by clean energy advocates to expand utility programs for customers who generate their own solar power.

Here is the MiBiz growth report for January 3, 2021.

An electric grid engineering and energy storage expert will fill a new vacancy on the Michigan Public Service Commission.

JACKSON — Consumers Energy has agreed to expand a solar energy program that advocates say is crucial to continue the sector’s growth in Michigan.

In a move sought for years by environmental advocates, tribes, and hospitality and tourism businesses, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this month notified Enbridge Inc. that it would no longer have the state’s permission to operate the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.

A key program that has incentivized small-scale solar projects in recent years is nearing its cap in two utility service territories.

DTE Energy plans to significantly expand its solar energy portfolio in the next two years to support growing corporate demand for renewable energy contracts.

Consumers Energy is hosting a series of virtual public forums over the next several months to gather public input on the next phase of its long-term clean energy plan.

Four electric vehicle fast-charging stations are now operating along major highway corridors in the Lower Peninsula as part of the state’s and major utilities’ efforts to build supportive infrastructure allowing for EV growth.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is seeking a “smooth transition” in leadership at the Michigan Public Service Commission ahead of expected changes to the three-member energy oversight board.

DTE Energy’s natural gas subsidiary has pledged to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through a series of actions involving suppliers, customers and its own infrastructure, aligning with long-term goals for the utility’s electricity operations.

Utilities regulated by the Michigan Public Service Commission will extend shutoff protections and flexible payment options for vulnerable customers through June 12, state officials announced today.

Michigan needs a swift build-out of renewable energy and, in the longer term, more transmission projects to account for the energy shortfall that will grow as more coal and nuclear plants are retired.

The coronavirus has wiped out recent statewide clean energy job gains as Michigan companies take a patchwork approach to continuing work during the pandemic.

A wave of independently owned solar projects planned in Michigan is driven largely by contracts with Consumers Energy, which has long-term plans to significantly boost its solar portfolio.

The widespread closure of schools, workplaces and in-person doctor visits has highlighted inequities in reliable internet access across Michigan, particularly among rural and low-income residents.

Michigan’s two major investor-owned utilities remain opposed to a series of bills that supporters say are needed to grow the state’s nascent solar industry.

Michigan has had its share of blackouts and brownouts over the years. Could “greenouts” be on the horizon? 

A proposed settlement between Consumers Energy and independent power producers could lead to hundreds of megawatts of solar power being built within the next four years.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed former state representative and clean energy advocate Dan Scripps to the Michigan Public Service Commission on Feb. 8, filling a key vacancy as the administration brings a heightened focus to renewable energy and climate change.

Former Democratic legislator Dan Scripps has been appointed to the Michigan Public Service Commission, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced today.

The Michigan Public Service Commission has started what could be a two-year process to govern how renewable energy projects are connected to the electric grid. The plan to make new interconnection rules seeks to resolve an unprecedented backlog of requests from independent power producers to build solar projects at a time when utility customers increasingly are turning to solar for self-generation.

As Larry Lewis advanced in his career as an engineer in the manufacturing, construction and telecommunications industries, he relied on computers as an essential tool for his everyday work. His aptitude grew alongside the technology, to which he was first exposed at Dartmouth College in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Consumers Energy plans a major shift to solar energy over the next two decades, but the extent to which the Jackson-based utility will rely on third-party developers eager to build projects in Michigan remains unclear. 

Solar industry advocates are dismayed by a recent Michigan Public Service Commission decision that phases out net metering after June 1.

A group of independent power producers are vowing to appeal a recent Michigan Public Service Commission ruling affecting how their facilities are compensated by Consumers Energy for the electricity they produce.

COVERT — Officials in Van Buren County felt a sense of relief last month when one of its largest employers and sources of tax revenue pledged to stay in the community for four more years.