State Rep. Yousef Rabhi and 
state Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann 
Arbor, discussed the implications 
of 
solar 
energy 
generation 
Monday at a town hall meeting. 
More 
than 
50 
community 
members gathered to provide 
input 
on 
recent 
legislation 
regarding solar energy usage.
Irwin began the event by 
explaining the background of 
clean energy and defining the 
concept of “net metering.”
“What (net metering) basically 
meant is that if you wanted to 
generate energy at home for a 
solar panel or something else and 
you plug this energy back into 
the grid, the utilities would net 
the energy use,” Irwin said. “If 
you were generating more energy 
than they were using, they would 
bank it. If you were using more 
than you were generating, you’d 

withdraw from that bank… and 
pay them for the excess.” 
The issue at hand is that major 
utility companies such as DTE 
are pushing for the shut-down of 
net metering, Irwin said.
Irwin 
elaborated 
on 
the 
inability of individuals to adopt 
solar energy due to the desires 
of 
utility 
companies. 
After 
utility companies pushed for 
the elimination of net metering, 
the 
legislature 
ruled 
that 
the Michigan Public Service 
Commission would enforce an 
“inflow, outflow” policy. In other 
words, if one were to draw energy 
from the grid, they would pay full 
retail costs.
On 
the 
other 
hand, 
by 
contributing excess energy to 
the grid, one would be paying 
back approximately half the 
amount of full retail. By this 
policy, the utility companies have 
slowed the development and 
deployment of solar in Michigan. 

They have also made the payback 
of a solar energy investment 
more unpredictable, leading to 
uncertainty about investing, and 
have decreased the price paid for 
excess power. 
“The long-term goal is to 
unshackle the Michigan residents 
from fossil fuels,” Irwin said. “It’s 
pretty absurd that we continue to 
rely upon fuels that we import to 
meet our energy needs. It would 
be much more environmentally 
wise and in the long-term much 
more economically wise if we 
were to develop and invest in 
home-grown clean renewable 
sources.” 
In addressing these problems, 
Rabhi discussed the Energy 
Freedom Package and Powering 
Michigan 
Forward 
Package 
— two sets of bills to tackle 
resistance to solar energy use 
in the community. Through the 
Energy Freedom Package, more 
conservative-minded libertarians 
may be drawn to the idea 
of personal choice and 
freedom 
of 
generating 
power, Rabhi said. 
In 
the 
Powering 
Michigan Package, there 
are 
three 
bills. 
House 
Bill 5143 discusses the 
importance of fair-value 
pricing 
by 
requiring 
the MPSC to establish a 
tariff that analyzes the 
distribution of solar energy 
and compensates users on 
the net amount of energy 
that they use. House Bill 
5144 eliminates the inflow/
outflow calculation in order 
to make paybacks for solar 
investment 
much 
more 
predictable. Finally, House 
Bill 5145 eliminates the 
current 1 percent cap on 
the number of individuals 
allowed to generate and 
contribute clean energy. 
Craig Afreekans Jr., a 
fellow for the organization 
“Friends of the Earth” 
is 
studying 
community 
mapping to discover who 
is contributing to a cleaner 

future. Afreekans Jr. said the 
bill eliminating the 1 percent 
cap extends benefits to more 
low 
income 
individuals 
and 
individuals of color.
“I think that in terms of the 
bills that I really like, I really like 
the House Bill 5145, the one that 
eliminates the 1 percent cap,” 
Afreekans Jr. said. “Because 
if only 1 percent of people are 
benefitting from the net metering 
cap that utilities companies have 
out, it’s not really for the state. It’s 
just for a few select people…and 
that doesn’t really mean people 
of color or people of low income.”
After the lecture portion of 
the event wrapped up, Rabhi and 
Irwin answered questions about 
the need for emergency off-grid 
energy sources in major buildings, 
the importance of wind power in 
states like Michigan and the cost 
of energy for electric vehicles. 
Jay Nugen, a do-it-yourself 
hobbyist who has a passion for 
adopting solar energy sources in 
his house, posed a question about 
how DTE would benefit if the 
entire state of Michigan were to 
adopt solar energy.
Irwin said DTE would have 
the opportunity to fill the need 
for power grid backups.
“I think there is a need for the 
grid to be managed and there 
will probably also be a need for 
power to be backed up and I think 
they have an opportunity to fill 
that need,” Irwin said. “They 
could be the ones who lead this 
transition and I think there could 
be a tremendous amount for their 
shareholders to benefit if they 
were to lead this transition for 
us.”
In an interview with The Daily 
after the event Rabhi and Irwin 
noted their short-term and long-
term goals in making sure that 
the utility companies realize that 
more people must start adopting 
solar power.
“I think it’s two-fold — one is 
reclaiming power for the people 
and (the second) is ensuring that 
we have a clean and sustainable 
energy future,” Rabhi said. 

2 — Tuesday, November 19, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News

ASHA LEWIS/Daily
State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor., discusses renewable energy laws at the Powering Michigan Forward Town Hall at Tappan Middle School 
Monday.

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Politicians promote adoption of 
solar energy, talk city benefits 

State Rep. Yousef Rabhi, Senator Jeff Irwin lead discussion on sustainbility

NEETI BHUTADA 
For The Daily 

