Over the past few years, corporate demand for cleaner energy to power their operations has directly led to the development of large-scale wind and solar projects across Michigan.

COVERT TWP. — The odds of a Southwest Michigan nuclear plant coming back to life after recently closing have improved as the owner pursues targeted federal funding for distressed nuclear facilities.

The wind and solar industries could fully replace the number of lost jobs at U.S. coal-fired power plants that are expected to close to meet emission-reduction targets, a recent University of Michigan study has found.

Legislation similar to bills that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed in 2020 involving the taxation of commercial solar energy developments was reintroduced this summer with changes to gain broader support from local governments.

PORT SHELDON TWP. — Consumers Energy’s recently approved plan to shut down the J.H. Campbell coal plant in Ottawa County in 2025 has caused a breach of contract dispute between the utility and another electricity provider.

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.

Michigan energy regulators have reopened a case involving Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline and the company’s request to build an underground tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac, calling for more information on the line’s current and future safety.

Michigan added more energy-sector jobs than any other state in 2021, boosted primarily by the automotive industry and growing attention to hybrid and electric vehicle models.

Two Michigan-based biofuel producers have received a total of nearly $8.7 million in federal relief to help recover from unexpected losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A statewide advanced energy trade group recently released a “roadmap” for the state to maximize hundreds of millions of dollars in federal infrastructure funding in the coming years.

In late March, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a sweeping proposal that would require publicly traded companies to disclose climate change risks that are likely to affect their business, as well as their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

Clean energy and housing advocates in Michigan are working to spend down an increasing amount of weatherization funds with a shrinking pool of contractors at their disposal. 

GRAND RAPIDS — CMS Energy and Spectrum Health West Michigan are partnering on a new solar energy project that will help meet the power needs at a planned 80-bed subacute rehabilitation center on the city’s northeast side.

The planned May 31 closure date of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Van Buren County is now in limbo after federal officials last week issued guidance on a new $6 billion program to save operating U.S. nuclear plant.

COVERT — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state energy regulators now see a path to keep the Palisades Power Plant in Van Buren County open beyond its scheduled May 31 closing date in hopes of preserving hundreds of jobs and a major clean energy resource.

COVERT — The owner of the Palisades nuclear power plant in Southwest Michigan disclosed last week that 184 jobs will be eliminated soon after the plant permanently closes on May 31.

KENTWOOD — Certified B Corp and food producer The GFB: The Gluten Free Bar is now participating in a Consumers Energy program to offset its Kentwood production facility’s electricity usage entirely with renewable energy.

Michigan is seeking more than $30 million in federal funding to accelerate the cleanup of hundreds of abandoned oil and gas wells across the state.

WALKER — Meijer Inc. has signed a 15-year contract to purchase output from a large-scale solar project in Texas under an agreement that will offset the retailer’s carbon emissions.

Michigan electric vehicle registrations climbed nearly 60 percent over the past year, which comes as the state is preparing to deploy tens of millions of dollars for additional charging infrastructure.

JACKSON — Consumers Energy plans to provide 200 rebates for electric vehicle charging stations in its Lower Peninsula service territory over the next two years.

DETROIT — DTE Energy is planning to scale up its voluntary renewable energy program because of growing demand from businesses and residents seeking to offset their electricity usage with clean energy sources.

An oil and gas pipeline expert testifying in a permitting case involving Enbridge’s Line 5 says state energy staffers are downplaying the risk of a potentially catastrophic explosion within a proposed tunnel that would carry oil and propane beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

While major utilities often garner headlines as power generators and providers, electric transmission companies are often behind the scenes as the critical infrastructure that moves power to customers.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive directive setting priorities for millions of dollars Michigan is poised to receive under the federal infrastructure bill for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Michigan’s two largest investor-owned utilities seek to play a more active role in economic development — particularly in luring advanced manufacturing facilities to the state — with plans to offer new electricity rates for large expansion projects.

GRAND RAPIDS — City officials will leverage more than $1.4 million in state grant funding to buy 12 new diesel- and compressed natural gas-powered fleet vehicles as part of a climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

GRAND RAPIDS — Increasing corporate concerns over climate change and growing energy management awareness is fueling growth for Foresight Management. 

The state Legislature has been active in recent weeks on energy bills being championed by West Michigan lawmakers. 

A coalition of energy businesses and clean energy advocates is calling for a $600 million investment of federal pandemic relief funding into clean transportation initiatives.

A state lawmaker from West Michigan has introduced legislation that would give industrial electric customers an opportunity to select alternative power suppliers in what supporters say is an effort to reduce electric costs and attract investments.

EAST LANSING — Expanding community-based solar energy projects that allow utility customers to purchase subscriptions for offsite generation would contribute nearly $1.5 billion to the state’s economy and create thousands of jobs.