Welcome to the weekly newsletter of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council (Michigan EIBC), the business voice for advanced energy in Michigan. Here’s what’s new this week:

 

Michigan Senate Passes Homeowner Energy Freedom Bill, Sent to Governor’s Desk

On June 20 the Michigan Senate approved HB 5028, a bill to allow homeowners to make energy-saving improvements to their homes and prohibit homeowners’ associations (HOAs) from blocking these improvements. The types of improvements covered by the bill include, but are not limited to, installing solar panels, EV charging equipment, heat pumps or reflective roofing.

The Michigan House of Representatives passed the bill Nov. 1, 2023.

Michigan EIBC has strongly supported this bill, and Michigan EIBC Senior Director of Policy Grace Michienzi testified in favor of it before the Michigan Senate Committee on Housing and Human Services earlier this year.

“We can respect desired neighborhood characteristics without creating de facto bans on energy-saving consumer products. House Bill 5028 helps ensure Michiganders are able to take advantage of energy technologies while also supporting and growing thousands of clean energy jobs in the state,” Michienzi said in a statement on June 20. “With this bill now headed to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk for signature, our state will join our neighbors in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio in establishing similar pro-consumer measures.”

Bill sponsor Rep. Ranjeev Puri has explained that the bill addresses a problem where HOAs have been blocking their residents from making energy improvements to their homes for purely aesthetic reasons.

“These provisions are critical for homeowners. Over 1.4 million Michiganders live in a community association which should never prevent a homeowner from being able to make improvements to their home to lower their household costs,” Michienzi said in an interview with MLive.

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Read More From Michigan EIBC on Community Solar Legislation

Planet Detroit recently covered the legislation to establish a legal path forward for community solar projects in Michigan, and talked to Michigan EIBC Senior Director of Policy Justin Carpenter about the bills, SB 152 and SB 153.

The Michigan Senate Energy and Environment Committee heard testimony from a diverse group of supporters of the bills at a hearing last week.

In the Planet Detroit article, Carpenter responds to claims from utilities that community solar shifts costs onto other customers. He argued that the utilities ignore the benefits that community solar brings to the distribution grid, and that these benefits that materialize in the form of better reliability, resilience and the ability to defer or delay grid upgrades lead to cost savings for all customers, not just community solar users.

Carpenter also talked about how these bills have bipartisan appeal. “It’s energy independence,” he said. “I think there are a lot of more libertarian-minded Republicans that are very on board with that, especially Up North where the electricity costs are a lot higher.”

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Registration Open for 12th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Gala

Michigan EIBC is excited to welcome our members, Michigan legislators and state officials, and the general public to our 12th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Gala on September 25th at The Gem Theatre in Detroit. Register now for one of our most popular events!

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please reach out to Brianna. You can view the available sponsorship levels and benefits here. Please note that the Watt level is sold out. And thank you to our current sponsors, who’s generosity helps to make our annual gala a huge success!

TERAWATT SPONSOR

GIGAWATT SPONSOR

MEGAWATT SPONSORS

KILOWATT SPONSORS

WATT SPONSORS

 

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Michigan Energy News

• Michigan AG Dana Nessel opposes a request from DTE to waive outage credit rules for non-smart meter customers.
• The Detroit News reports on how Michigan residents and utilities have been preparing for extreme heat and storms this summer.
• Inside Climate News investigates the reasons for delays in renewable energy projects in Midwestern states, including Michigan.
• DTE says power demands are up 20% to 30% on its grid this summer.

National Energy News

• The U.S. Department of Energy plans to offer $900 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law for the deployment of small modular nuclear reactors, including $800 million for up to two first mover, multi-reactor projects and $100 million to fix gaps in reactor development like site preparation.
• The Great Lakes region has appeal for data centers, which raises questions about the region’s future load growth and electric reliability.
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is demanding that major grid operators show why their rules concerning how transmission owners can charge interconnection customers are not unfair.
• Canary Media looks at the progress of several projects to add grid-enhancing technologies.

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Job Board

Attention Michigan EIBC members: if you have a job announcement you would like in the newsletter, please send a paragraph describing the position and a link to apply to Matt Bandyk at matt@mieibc.org. Please include in the email a specific end date for the job posting.

Elevate

Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion Lead. Location: Chicago.
The Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion (DREI) Lead is responsible for the development and implementation (integration) of initiatives that promote diversity, racial equity, and inclusion (DREI) aligning with Elevate’s core vision, mission, values, and goals. The DREI Lead will work closely with the DREI support team and others, as needed, to ensure integration of DREI principles throughout Elevate programs, processes and practices, execute on strategic priorities, and drive successful outcomes. This Lead will serve as the subject matter expert on DREI and provide vision, expertise, and counsel on matters of diversity initiatives, strategic planning, education and research, and program implementation.

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Michigan and National Energy Events

Michigan EIBC member Lean & Green Michigan is holding a networking and informational event, “Unlocking Opportunities: Exploring PACE Financing in Michigan,” at the Cambria Hotel, a recent PACE project, in downtown Detroit, from 8:30 am to 10:00 am on July 9. Breakfast will be provided.

The 68th Annual Michigan Energy Providers Conference will be held at the Grand Traverse Resort July 25-26. Register here.

Michigan EIBC trade organization member American Clean Power is holding a lunch celebrating Michigan’s progress on clean energy featuring Reps. Abraham Aiyash and Ranjeev Puri and Sen. Sam Singh on Aug. 14 at The Henry Ford in Dearborn. Please RSVP here by July 10.

The 12th Annual Michigan Energy Innovators Gala will be held in Detroit on Sept. 25. Tickets are available now.

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Opportunities

The Michigan Public Service Commission has created a website tracking its progress implementing Public Acts 229, 231, 233, 234, and 235, passed on Nov. 8, 2023 and signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Nov. 28.

Michigan EGLE is launching the Renewables Ready Communities Award (RRCA), which makes Michigan municipalities that have, on or after October 1, 2023, begun physically hosting and performing local permitting for any portion of an eligible renewable energy project eligible for awards of $5,000 per MW. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until Sept. 30. More information on this opportunity can be found on the RRCA Webpage.

Michigan EGLE is offering at least $320,000 in funding MI Solar Communities-MI Solar Access Program. Applications will be accepted through March 31, 2025, or when funding is expended, whichever comes first. Find the request for proposals for MI Solar Access here.

Michigan EGLE has released an RFP for grants from its Clean Energy Workforce Development Program. The application deadline is July 30, 2025.