LANSING – A bipartisan group of four representatives representing both peninsulas said Thursday they are introducing bills designed to remove barriers for businesses and individuals in the state to generate their own energy and receive fair-value pricing.
Rep. Jeff Irwin(D-Ann Arbor) andRep. Ed McBroom(R-Vulcan) worked on similar legislation last term and joinedRep. Scott Dianda(D-Calumet) andRep. Gary Glenn(R-Midland) to introduce bills again this term.
The legislation will officially be introduced next week, but two of the bills would set up a framework to allow members to buy shares of a renewable energy system and receive a monthly bill credit for their shares’ output and modify net metering rules to remove the cap on participants.
The other two bills would create a framework for pricing the power generated by consumers and put back on the grid using a market-based approach is used to ensure both the customer and the utility are fairly compensated and addressing concerns that the cost of integrating distributed generation would otherwise be subsidized by other customers.
McBroom, sponsor of the net metering bill, said he would like to see much more freedom for residents to participate in the program.
“As a farmer, I have been interested in seeing my fellow farmers generate their own energy,” he said. “Because of current caps and restrictions and really in my opinion not finding a fair compensation for the energy they are generating, we are not allowing (that freedom).”
Glenn, whose bill would allow groups to buy shares of renewable energy, which he calls a community renewable energy garden, said it would provide more choice for ratepayers, including schools.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to invest in renewable energy, even if they can’t install a system at their own home or business,” he said. “The community energy bill would enable a wide range of people to share the up-front costs and long-term benefits of producing renewable energy, keeping more of our energy dollars here in Michigan. It’s pro-jobs, pro-environment, and pro-freedom.”
Irwin said the pricing bill would takes into account what kind of energy at what time, the value that is produced by energy at the tips of the network and credits for distribution.
“As Michigan’s highly-successful renewable energy standard expires this year, the Energy Freedom legislation is a bipartisan, bipeninsular effort to continue shaping our state’s energy future for the better,” he said. “We should be encouraging people to produce clean energy right here in Michigan, not encumbering them with bureaucratic rules. The Energy Freedom bills would remove barriers to renewable energy production for homeowners, business owners and nonprofits across the state.”
Dianda added the bills would help with the unique energy situation in the Upper Peninsula.
“In the western U.P., distributed generation makes sense because in some parts of the region we have very few homes and businesses per mile of transmission line,” he said. “We should be encouraging businesses and residents who want to generate their own energy from any of the UP’s abundant resources, including geothermal heat from the mines, woody biomass or solar energy. Such policies will help strengthen our energy infrastructure and provide much needed jobs.”
But a coalition representing large utilities and other interests criticized the bills as risky. Utilities such as DTE Energy and Consumers Energy have said those using the net metering program need to pay for keeping up the power grid.
“Any new energy policy in Michigan must address the issue of fairness and make sure that everyone pays their fair share to support our energy grid,” said Kelly Rossman-McKinney, spokeswoman for Citizens for Michigan’s Energy Future. “It appears that Rep. Gary Glenn’s proposal will actually perpetuate policies that are unfair to Michigan customers. We all rely on the grid every day for energy and no one deserves a special deal or unfair subsidies. Everyone should be treated equally and fairly.”
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