LANSING – A Democratic leader’s bill aims to require Michigan to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2035, a goal deemed unrealistic given current technology.
The bill doesn’t explain how Michigan will advance from renewables providing only 11 percent of Michigan’s net electricity generation in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, to 100 percent in 15 years.
Jason Hayes, director of environmental policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said the bill was “doomed to fail” because of unrealistic expectations.
“How is it possible for someone to think that you could go from 11 percent to 100 percent in 15 years?” Hayes said in a phone interview.
Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor, proposed House Bill 6524. Rabhi, the House minority floor leader, hasn’t responded to a request for comment. The bill says the state would implement incremental increases until eventually reaching 100 percent renewable energy. Starting in 2021-2024, Michigan would use 15 percent and scale up to 100 percent by 2035.
Written into the bill are many exceptions – land-use permits, zoning, environmental permits, government approvals, high costs, shortages, costs, availability, time requirements, labor shortages, court orders, or unreliable systems.
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