As Switch Ltd. planned a new data center in Gaines Township outside Grand Rapids three years ago, the company considered it critical that Consumers Energy could power the facility entirely with renewable energy.

For many small business owners, the idea of trying to manage energy usage and utility relationships can be a bit overwhelming. Would energy efficiency upgrades really impact a bottom line? Who can assist when there are outage issues? Is the price being paid for service at the correct rate?

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. 

Utility customers across the state could be refunded hundreds of millions of dollars as a result of the federal tax overhaul that passed in December, reducing the corporate income tax rate.

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.

An ongoing case before the Michigan Public Service Commission over maintaining adequate electricity supplies into the future is prompting concerns over rising energy costs and unnecessarily spending $1 billion on new power plants.

Jackson-based Consumers Energy is targeting hundreds of its business customers statewide in an effort to reduce energy demand during times when the electric grid is most stressed.

MUSKEGON — As a result of the challenging economics of maintaining decades-old coal plants, communities nationwide have wrestled with how to replace lost tax revenue and repurpose large industrial brownfield sites when those facilities close.

Executives in Michigan’s solar energy industry spent most of 2016 dealing with anxiety and uncertainty over proposed legislative changes most believed would have stifled growth in the state’s nascent sector.