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 
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