Last
week,
Michigan
lawmakers, including state Sen.
Jeff Irwin and state Rep. Yousef
Rabhi, both Ann Arbor democrats,
introduced a set of bills that
would promote investment in
solar energy across the state. The
legislation would offer economic
incentives for Michigan residents
who install solar energy systems
on their properties.
The
Powering
Michigan
Forward package would address
statewide
regulations
on
residential solar energy production
that lawmakers say are preventing
the expansion of renewable energy
investment.
The package plans to shift
residential solar energy production
in Michigan from an “inflow,
outflow” system to a net metering
system. In an “inflow, outflow”
system, residents with solar panels
must purchase all their energy
needs from utility companies at a
retail rate and then sell the energy
created by their solar panels back
to the companies at a lower cost.
In a net metering system, residents
with solar panels only need to pay
utility companies for the energy
they consume beyond what is
produced by their solar panels.
Additionally, if the resident’s solar
panels produce more energy than
the resident consumes, the resident
is able to sell the unused energy
to utility companies that add the
energy back to the grid.
Rabhi introduced two House
Bills
last
week,
which
are
very similar to a set of bills he
sponsored the last political term.
The package is in response to a
2016 energy law put into effect
under then-Gov. Rick Snyder that
changed Michigan’s regulation of
residential solar energy production
from a net metering system to an
“inflow, outflow” system.
“That is creating an economic
environment
for
the
people
installing solar panels on their
homes that is disfavorable and
reduces the financial viability of
those solar projects,” Rabhi said.
“So that is a very bad system.”
Rabhi’s first bill would repeal
the language in the 2016 energy
law that allowed the change from a
net metering system to an “inflow,
outflow”
system.
The
second
would require the Michigan Public
Service Commission to develop a
fair pricing system for solar energy
that would reflect the benefit
of residential solar panels.
Rabhi said energy utility
companies have expressed
the greatest opposition for
these solar energy investment
bills, adding these companies
will have ample time to weigh
in on the proposed legislation.
“This is an uphill battle,
but I think it is an uphill
battle that is worth fighting
because, again, we are in dire
need of a renewable energy
future and this is how we get
that,” Rabhi said.
John Benedict, a lecturer
for the Program in the
Environment,
teaches
a
course
discussing
contemporary
ecological
issues. A major theme of
the course is the pollution
and habitat destruction that
results from the extraction
and use of fossil fuels, as
well as the urgency to move
toward
using
renewable
energy sources such as solar
power. Benedict said the 2016
legislation hurt interest in
renewable energy in the state.
“The legislation sounded like it
might have been highly influenced
by
lobbies
that
didn’t
want
renewables to really blossom,”
Benedict said. “This new legislation
seems like it’s taking into account
the idea that renewables are
becoming more cheap, and if we
get public investment in it, it just
drives that system more.”
Benedict
also
said
a
net
metering system is an essential
step in allowing the public to have
the power and government support
to commit to sustainable energy
sources.
“It’s just such a good incentive
to having people invest in their
own energy future,” Benedict said.
“As opposed to leaving it up state-
level legislation which is going
to mandate how our companies
operate, like Consumer Electric or
DTE.”
LSA sophomore Fiona Lynch,
a long-time Ann Arbor resident,
said she is enthusiastic about a
system that incentivizes Michigan
residents to install renewable
energy systems.
“I think it’s important for
politicians to really give respect
to the role that they’ve been given
and start taking serious action
because that’s what they’ve been
elected to do,” Lynch said. “This is
a big opportunity to actually make
change, and so I think it’s great that
it’s starting to happen and I hope it
continues to happen.”
Rabhi added the Powering
Michigan Forward package is part
of a larger political movement to
create and pass state laws focusing
on sustainability issues. Even now,
Rabhi is developing and will soon
introduce another bill that will
create a 100 percent renewable
energy portfolio in the state of
Michigan, meaning that all of the
state’s energy will come from clean
energy sources.
OP TICAL PU L S ES
2A — Thursday, October 31, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
RITA VEGA/Daily
Dr. Donna Strickland, Nobel Laureate and professor of physics, lectures on generating high-intensity, ultrashort optical pulses in Rackham
Auditorium Wednesday.
MARIA SOBRINO
Daily Staff Reporter
Sen. Irwin, Rep. Rabhi present a set of bills to promote investment in renewable resources
Ann Arbor politicians introduce
initiatives to increase solar energy
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
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