LANSING – Michigan generates some $2.6 billion in annual economic activity due in part to the establishment of a renewable portfolio standard created in 2008, a report by the Environmental Law and Policy Center has concluded.
The report asserts that hundreds of companies are in the wind and/or solar business supply chain, and at least 19 companies are involved in manufacturing and designing batteries and energy storage systems, with more room to grow.
“Across Michigan, businesses large and small are engineering, designing, manufacturing, and building the clean energy projects that will power the future of the state,” John Paul Jewell, research coordinator at ELPC, said in a statement. “What’s more is that we found dozens of businesses that are prepared to jump in to the clean energy sector if the state’s energy policy drives increased development of wind and solar energy.”
The report was developed through an analysis of data from several industry groups, ELPC said, and companies were individually contacted to confirm their supply chain role.
The report identified at least 187 Michigan companies involved in the state’s solar energy supply chain and at least 133 companies involved in the state’s wind power supply chain.
What benefits Michigan in the industry and could continue to benefit it going forward, the report indicated, is its established manufacturing base, skilled high-tech workforce, research and development spending (businesses spend more than $15 billion a year on research and development, it said), and strong university base for clean-tech expertise
Creating the RPS in 2008 has resulted in some 1,500 megawatts of wind power, 27 megawatts of solar energy and $2.9 billion in investments since 2009, the report found. But if Michigan doesn’t improve its RPS, the state risks being left behind in attracting jobs and reducing energy costs, ELPC’s report noted in urging policymakers to extend the RPS and increase the percentage goal moving forward.
Legislation awaiting action on the House floor includes a renewable goal but no specific mandate (See Gongwer Michigan Report, November 5, 2015). But legislation pending in the Senate Energy and Technology Committee so far does not include either, and the chairman of that committee has been firm in resisting some kind of renewable mandate (See Gongwer Michigan Report, November 30, 2015).
As Gongwer News Service first reported, the House is also likely to vote on its energy legislation in the full House before the end of the calendar year, but the Senate expects its committee to work on the legislation into the New Year, much less vote on it on the floor before then (See Gongwer Michigan Report, November 30, 2015)
The report by ELPC profiles and maps specific wind and solar industry supply chain companies across the state as well as companies using both forms of renewable energy. It also details energy storage industry supply chain companies in Michigan, which it suggests could be a growing market for the state as renewable energy costs go down and installations go up.
“Michigan, with its high-tech workforce and renewable energy manufacturing supply chain, is emerging as a place for battery manufacturing to call home,” it said.
ELPC identified 19 companies involved in the manufacture and design of batteries and energy storage systems, most of which appear located in the metro Detroit area, with a handful also located near Grand Rapids or Holland.
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