Michigan
Michigan's ambitious clean energy laws face a peninsula-sized hurdle
This coverage is made possible through a partnership with Grist and Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan.
Last year, Michigan became one of the latest states to adopt a clean energy standard, passing sweeping legislation that calls for utilities there to use 100 percent clean electricity by 2040 and sets targets for renewable energy development, among other requirements.
Now, it’s rolling out those laws. And the Michigan Public Service Commission, the energy regulators responsible for that rollout, must pay special attention to the Upper Peninsula. The commission has until December 1 to recommend whether — and how — the legislation should be adjusted to accommodate its people, businesses, and utilities.
They’ve got their work cut out for them: The Upper Peninsula, known colloquially as the U.P., is a huge, sparsely populated region in the north, separated from the rest of the state by the Straits of Mackinac and wedged between lakes Superior, Michigan, and Huron. The U.P. has a lot of utilities for its small population of just over 300,000, requiring a higher level of cooperation among them. Plus, the grid was built with power-hogging industries like mining and paper mills in mind, and fluctuating industrial demand has meant people who live in the region have faced high costs over the years. Some utilities have charged residents rates that are among the highest in Michigan and the country.
And the Public Service Commission has to ensure that the natural gas plants it approved in 2017 as a cleaner alternative to coal don’t prevent Michigan from achieving its clean energy goals.
Those natural gas plants are powered by reciprocating internal combustion engines, called RICE units, that went online just five years ago and were built to last for decades — that is, beyond the state’s 2040 goal for clean energy. While the mining company Cleveland-Cliffs agreed to pay half of the $277 million price tag, the rest of the cost was passed on to more than 42,000 utility customers.
Michigan’s new energy laws specifically mention the U.P.’s expensive new natural gas engines as a hurdle and ask the Public Service Commission to figure out what to do.
The laws don’t require shutting down the engines outright. But they do consider only natural gas paired with carbon capture “clean,” so the utility running the engines would have to deploy a lot of renewables instead or find some other way to comply with the new rules. What all that means for the future of the five-year-old engines is uncertain.
Dan Scripps, the commission’s chair, said the state could tweak its approach to the RICE units by reducing or offsetting emissions. Another option, he said, would be to think about the region’s energy goals holistically: “How do you effectively get to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, but maybe with more flexibility around carbon capture and that sort of thing?”
The commission is juggling a lot of opinions.
Mining officials and employees spoke in favor of continuing to run the RICE units at a public hearing held by the commission this summer.
Ryan Korpela, the general manager for Cleveland-Cliffs’ Tilden Mine, asked commissioners to allow the natural gas engines to operate without requiring renewable energy credits or new power generation, calling them “the perfect solution to a difficult problem,” and noting that ratepayers already foot the bill.
Officials with Cleveland-Cliffs say that the engines are cleaner and more efficient than coal, saving customers money on transmission costs. But organizations like the Sierra Club have spoken out against installing them in places like neighboring Wisconsin, arguing that burning methane — the main component of natural gas — harms both the climate and the people living next to the plants. The climate think tank RMI says many comparisons of coal and gas only consider end-use emissions, and don’t account for methane leaks during production and transportation. According to an RMI analysis published last year, those leaks can put the climate impacts of natural gas on par with coal (when emitted into the atmosphere, methane is about 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide).
The utility that operates the RICE units, Upper Michigan Energy Resources Corporation, is working to deploy renewables, said spokesperson Brendan Conway in an email, but they’re balancing that with an immediate need for reliable energy: “These units serve that critical function in a part of the state with limited transmission access.”
Others, including environmental and energy groups, have pushed to implement the state’s laws as written, including the clean energy mandate.
Abby Wallace, a member of the Michigan Environmental Council, wants to find a compromise on the natural gas engines. “There are ways that the RICE units could be made more efficient themselves. And I think it’s premature to say that the U.P. in no way could meet the goals that the rest of the state are being held to in the legislation,” she said during the hearing.
Across the country, four states have 100 percent renewable portfolio standards, while 16 states have adopted broader 100 percent clean electricity standards, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s August report. (Clean energy includes a wider array of technologies than renewables, so that number doesn’t include states like Vermont, which put a renewable energy standard into law earlier this year.)
Galen Barbose, a staff scientist who authored the report, said Michigan’s goals are pretty ambitious.
“Most other 100 percent states have targets that are further out in time,” he said. “By setting that 100 percent target for 2040, Michigan is one of the more aggressive states in terms of the timeline.” It is also approaching the transition more incrementally than some other states, Barbose said, aiming to get 80 percent of its energy from clean sources by 2035.
Looming in the background of Michigan’s energy transition is the instability of the electrical grid, which can have serious consequences for the people living in the U.P.
“A squirrel sneezes and the power goes out,” said Tori McGeshick, describing how some locals see reliability there. McGeshick is a member of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians who now lives across the border in northern Wisconsin. She works as the tribe’s climate resilience coordinator.
Utilities often take longer to respond to power outages in more remote areas, she said, and unreliable power has had a profound effect on her community, especially elders and people with specific medical needs.
“It’s also affecting our harvesting rights,” McGeshick told Grist. “A lot of people harvest or hunt or fish during the different seasons, and when a power outage occurs, all of that — supplies — also is lost.” She added that the Public Service Commission should solicit more tribal input as it weighs the new legislation against the infrastructure, cost, and reliability of the grid.
Not everyone agrees that natural gas is a long-term solution to reliable, affordable energy. Roman Sidortsov, an associate professor of energy policy at Michigan Technological University, said gas prices are variable and hard to predict. “People tend to forget that fossil fuels, and oil and gas in particular — it’s incredibly volatile business,” he said. “There’s very little stability in the prices.”
Sidortsov, who was a member of the state’s U.P. Energy Task Force several years ago, said the U.P. deals with different environmental factors and customers than the rest of the state; the grid was built to serve industries that aren’t as robust as they once were.
He thinks a lot of the region’s demand can be met with distributed generation — getting power through smaller, more localized sources of energy, something energy experts have discussed for years. Sidortsov said the right way forward is to develop the grid’s capacity for energy storage and smaller, spread-out renewable energy sources.
“So when we are talking about achieving the goals set by the Legislature, it probably will require rethinking the grid in the U.P., updating the grid in the U.P., making sure that it can accommodate local solutions and distributed solutions.”
Michigan has become a leader among the states working toward an all-clean energy standard, said Douglas Jester, a managing partner at the policy consulting firm 5 Lakes Energy who helped develop the state’s laws.
And while the clean energy standard still allows utilities to sell some amount of fossil fuel power back to the grid, it might not make financial sense come 2040, Jester said, as nearby states increasingly turn to renewables.
This reporting was supported by the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources.
Editor’s note: Sierra Club is an advertiser with Grist. Advertisers have no role in Grist’s editorial decisions.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Hello, is it an awesome event you’re looking for? Well, you can see some great options not in a pair of eyes or a smile, but in this weekend planner.
Here is a look at what you can do the weekend of May 15:
Acrisure Amphitheater Grand Opening
It’s been a long time coming, but finally, the Acrisure Amphitheater is set to welcome in its first guests with not one, but two shows this weekend.
It kicks off Friday with a grand opening performance by Lionel Richie. And then on Saturday, catch several local artists as part of the Community Celebration.
Click here to grab tickets while you still can.
Heritage Hill Tour of Homes
Saturday marks the start of the 58th annual Heritage Hill Tour of Homes, where guests can explore some of the historic homes in the historic neighborhood.
One of those homes includes the Voigt House, which was built in 1895 and has not been open to the public in 17 years.
For more information, click here.
Puppies on the Patio at Harmony Brewing
What’s better than a cold one after a stressful week? How about sharing a cold one with your best friend?
You and your dog can enjoy a frosty beverage this Saturday at Harmony Brewing Company with a Puppy Pool Party. There will be kiddie pools, activities for dogs and humans and plenty of aforementioned beer.
Click here to learn more.
WestFest
Spring is in the air and you can tell not by the pollen closing in on us, but by the fact that WestFest is happening for another year.
For more than three decades now, the carnival has served as a way for those living on the West Side of Grand Rapids to come together and celebrate the changing of the season. The funds raised by the event will also go towards servicing families of Sacred Heart Parish & Academy.
Details can be found here.
Creston Neighborhood Pancake Breakfast
On Saturday, the Creston Neighborhood in Grand Rapids is inviting the community to partake in its free pancake breakfast and resource fair.
The event will provide plenty of resources from local organizations, a chance for folks to meet their neighbors and also enjoy some delicious pancakes for free.
More information can be found here.
Butterfly Release in Paw Paw
A special memorial butterfly release will be held Saturday in the village of Paw Paw to help those deal with their grief and loss.
Attendees are asked to arrive before 10 a.m. That is when the memorial service will begin, followed by the butterfly release.
For details, click here.
The Kite Festival at Grand Haven
One of the most visually stunning events returns to Grand Haven State Park Saturday and Sunday with the Kite Festival.
It’s your chance to check out dozens upon dozens of kites soaring through the sky. The best part is that it’s completely free to attend.
You can get more information by clicking here.
Kalamazoo Toy Show
On Saturday, head on out to the Kalamazoo County Expo Center for this year’s Kalamazoo Toy Show.
Kids 12 and under get in free to check out some incredibly preserved antique toys like cap guns, action figures, Pez dispensers and more.
Details can be found by clicking here.
Prom with a Purpose
The signature event of the Momentum Center in Grand Haven is Prom with a Purpose and it’s back this weekend.
The event gives folks a chance at reliving the glory days with a night of dancing, eating and fun. The event helps raise funds for the Momentum Center’s initiatives.
Click here to learn more.
Michigan
Michigan DNR confirms black bear roaming Downriver communities in furthest southeast sighting ever
FLAT ROCK, Mich. (WXYZ) — A black bear has been confirmed roaming the Carleton, Rockwood, and Flat Rock area — the furthest southeast the Michigan DNR has ever recorded a bear sighting in the state.
Watch Jeffrey Lindblom’s video report:
Two black bear sightings confirmed in southern counties
Residents near Woodruff Road first spotted the animal on a trail camera, with many initially mistaking it for a large cat. The Michigan DNR has since confirmed two black bear sightings in the area since Sunday, along with tracks to match.
Dale Hicks, a Rockwood resident, was among the first to spot the animal.
“I looked, and I said there’s a big cat by the double gate,” Hicks said.
WXYZ-TV
Neighbor Carolann Foerch said she was surprised to learn the animal had passed through her property.
“It was here and apparently walking through our back yard. He says, there’s a bear out there!” Foerch said.
WXYZ-TV
Foerch, who is originally from northern Michigan, said she welcomed the unusual visitor.
“I love the bear, you betcha,” Foerch said.
Fellow resident Corry Stanley summed up the reaction many neighbors shared.
“Guess it was a real bear,” Stanley said.
WXYZ-TV
Jan Saintamour, another Rockwood resident, called the sighting “kind of cool. Kind of odd.”
WXYZ-TV
What the DNR says
Cody Norton, a bear specialist with the Michigan DNR, said the sighting is unprecedented for the region.
“This is the furthest southeast we’ve seen,” Norton said.
WXYZ-TV
Norton described southeastern Michigan as far more developed than other parts of the state, making the bear’s appearance in the area without any reported sightings along its path especially unusual.
The DNR reports approximately 12,000 bears living across Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas. Norton said the lower peninsula bear population has grown significantly in recent years.
“Our bear population in the lower peninsula has grown about 60-percent,” Norton said.
As bear numbers have risen, the animals have begun moving into areas further west and south. Norton said younger male bears in particular tend to wander in search of territory not already claimed by dominant males.
“They are able to survive and make a living in habitats we previously thought wouldn’t be suitable for bears,” Norton said.
Norton said bears would have historically inhabited this area before development pushed them out, and that as populations continue to grow, sightings in unexpected places like southeastern Michigan are likely to increase.
“Their world revolves around food,” Norton said.
What to do if you see the bear
The DNR says residents do not need to be overly concerned.
“I don’t think anyone should be too worried about this individual bear roaming around in this area,” Norton said.
Norton said there has not been a bear-related human fatality in Michigan since 1930. He added that residents do not need to worry about walking pets or letting animals outside.
However, there are steps residents can take to avoid unintentionally attracting the bear to their property:
- Secure garbage cans
- Manage bird feeders
- Do not leave pet food outside
If you do encounter the bear, the DNR advises against running. Instead, make yourself appear large, make noise, and slowly back away to a safe location.
As of now, the bear does not appear to be bothering anyone or displaying aggressive behavior. The DNR says it will continue to leave the bear alone unless it begins acting aggressively or causing property damage.
Hicks, for his part, said he plans to keep an eye out.
“I’m going to look at it and take pictures of it,” Hicks said.
—————————————————————————
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
NOVI — Surprise! Sakura Novi is getting yet another Michigan premiere store with the opening of TESO Life at 42688 Grand River Avenue on May 15.
The 12,000 square-foot store offers thousands of Asian-themed beauty products, collectibles, snacks, beverages and more.
“Hopefully people will like us,” said store manager Jackal Saw. “I’m excited about the whole new culture here and I see a lot of excited customers. I have faith in Michigan.”TESO Life was founded in 2017 and while the company offers mainly Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Taiwanese products that cater to a “global consumer,” it is U.S. based, with headquarters in New York City and stores sprouting up across the east and west coasts, as well as in Texas, Florida and Chicago.Novi is the 27th location for TESO Life, which has a loyal following among Asian populations, but which has fun finds for anyone with an interest in Asian culture, food and fun collectibles.
Among the most popular items are “blind boxes,” in which there are mystery collector items that Saw describes as similar to Popmart, but with different brands, including Care Bears, Lucky Emma, Maltese, Smiski and more.A wide variety of do-it-yourself kits from Rolife line shelves, offering creative challenges.
Snack aisles abound with sweet treats, including freezers full of ice cream specialties seen on TikTok and plenty of refrigerated beverages.
TESO Life in Novi has about 30 employees waiting to greet you and is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
On opening weekend from May 15-17, spend any amount and get a free pin. Guests spending $50 or more will also get a free snack and those spending more than $100 will receive a free gift bag.
Contact reporter Susan Bromley at sbromley@hometownlife.com
-
Georgia3 minutes agoGeorgia Power proposal comes as summer cooling costs are expected to rise
-
Hawaii9 minutes agoTourist accused of hurling rock at endangered Hawaii monk seal’s head is arrested by federal agents
-
Idaho15 minutes agoIdaho silversmiths craft wearable works of art inspired by the West
-
Illinois21 minutes agoHost of new Illinois laws would target various parts of the AI industry
-
Indiana27 minutes agoIndiana A.G. finishes Karl King Tower investigation, finalizes compliance order
-
Iowa33 minutes ago
Democrats will debate in Iowa US Senate primary shaped by outside money and big-name endorsements
-
Kansas39 minutes agoKHP says 135 spill was human waste
-
Kentucky45 minutes agoWhich Kentucky Derby horses are running in the 2026 Preakness Stakes?
