Electing Clean Energy Champions in Michigan

Elections matter, and last year the clean energy majorities in the Michigan state legislature made the most of being in power for the first time in 30 years. Governor Whitmer, and her allies in the legislature, made significant progress on a variety of clean energy and clean transportation fronts in 2023.

Among the big wins last year, the state budget included historic investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure and electric school buses. The session wrapped with Michigan joining the 100% Clean Energy Club and adopting needed reforms for renewable project siting. These bills also included a large energy waste reduction standard and energy storage requirements. All of which will help deliver low-cost and reliable clean energy to Michiganders.

These are bold policy achievements from a legislature with a razor-thin clean energy majority. That majority, and the long-term viability of the policies adopted in 2023 are on the ballot in 2024. A citizens’ group is already attempting to repeal siting reform through ballot initiative. If the opposition feels emboldened to try to overturn progress today, rollbacks are nearly inevitable if anti-clean energy legislators take over.

Losses in Michigan would almost certainly result in a food fight over funding pieces of 2023’s progress, forcing Governor Whitmer to use her veto pen on legislation to slow the clean energy transition, and pushback on the governor’s appointments to key posts to implement the legislation.

Supporters of clean energy need to show up in Michigan and demonstrate that we’ll stand up for elected officials who share our vision of a clean and healthy world run on clean energy.