MIDLAND, Mich. — Bills passed by the Michigan Senate last night will drastically increase Michigan’s energy costs and harm energy reliability. The Senate passed SB 271, SB 273 and SB 502, which would require the state to use 100% clean energy by 2040. 

Below is a statement from Jason Hayes, director of energy and environmental policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

“While recognizing the need for energy sources like nuclear and natural gas is progress, these bills would still have drastic consequences. There’s no doubt that people would quickly experience increased costs and widespread grid instability as a result of a wind, solar, and battery backup-based electric grid.

Michigan ratepayers should know that it’s impossible to achieve net-zero goals on the cheap. Even these amended bills will continue to impose substantial costs on the average Michigan family while achieving little to nothing to actually address the climate change issue politicians claim they want to solve. Estimates show that taking the state of Michigan to net-zero emissions by 2050 would only reduce global temperatures by approximately 1/1000th of a degree Celsius by the year 2100. Meanwhile, people can expect pay an additional $2,746 in energy costs each year just to experience more blackouts.”

The Mackinac Center submitted testimony on the bills in June.

Learn more about the Mackinac Center’s work on energy policy here.