LANSING, MI – Republican bills offering a big carveout to Michigan’s clean energy standards for two Upper Peninsula utilities have advanced — with some Democrats reaching across the aisle to speed them along.

The legislation introduced this year by two GOP state representatives from the U.P. initially sought to classify power plants burning natural gas, a fossil fuel composed mainly of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, as “clean” and “renewable” under the law.

Read more: Michigan Republicans look to classify U.P. natural gas power plants as clean, renewable

Such a move flies in the face of the generally accepted definitions of the terms, referring to power sources that don’t actively emit planet-warming carbon.

But doing so is critical to avoid shutting down the relatively new plants early, and stranding Yoopers with hefty costs on power bills, while utilities scramble to comply with state requirements to transition to less polluting power sources in the coming years, the bills’ backers say.

But environmental groups contend there’s nothing that would force such a shutdown. They frame the bills as a premature attempt to undermine Michigan’s landmark clean and renewable energy standards, passed by Democrats and signed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2023.

On Tuesday, April 15, both bills — HB 4007 introduced by Rep. Karl Bohnak, R-Deerton, and HB 4283 introduced by Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River — cleared a first hurdle and were voted out of the House Energy Committee with bipartisan support.

A Democrat on the committee, Rep. Julie Brixie of Meridian Township, said she had negotiated with Prestin to modify the legislation, without compromising its intent and impact.

“I am sympathetic to the different energy needs in the U.P. and want to ensure that life remains affordable for the people living there. However, natural gas is not clean energy, and while natural gas is cleaner than coal, it is not clean energy,” Brixie said Tuesday.

Instead of classifying the gas power plants as “clean” and “renewable,” her amendments would instead exempt the U.P. utilities that run them from complying with the new energy standards, up until 2050.

An accordingly amended version of HB 4283 advanced to the House floor on Tuesday, with Democrats Joe Tate, Tullio Liberati and Joey Andrews joining the Republican majority to support it.

Brixie’s attempt to amend HB 4007 failed, and the original version was referred to the House Rules Committee, with Democratic support from Tate and Liberati.

Brixie, who voted no on advancing both bills, said in a statement she looked forward to “continued collaboration” on the package prior to a vote on the House floor.

Environmentalists opposed the carveout, even after the across-the-aisle negotiation.

Weakening or rolling back the 2023 clean energy law in any way is a “bad idea,” said Nicholas Occhipinti, state government affairs director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

Occhipinti said the energy standards already have off-ramps built in if power sources like the gas plants are deemed critical, and the utilities should be forced to make that case to state regulators.

“These bills do nothing to drive down rates for U.P. residents. They do absolutely nothing,” he said. “It’s a solution in search of problem.”

The power plants are composed of 13 reciprocating internal combustion engine generators, known as RICE units, run by Marquette’s municipal power provider and the for-profit utility Upper Michigan Energy Resources, or UMERC.

The generators have been hailed as a nimble and flexible replacement for hulking U.P. coal plants, and enabled the peninsula to emerge from an “energy crisis” sparked by the transition away from coal, which rapidly slashed carbon emissions.

Read more: The U.P. ditched coal power before the rest of Michigan. What comes next?

Now, utilities, economic development groups and mining interests that depend on power from the gas plants claim that requirements to reach 60% renewable energy by 2035 and 100% “clean” energy by 2040 will force them offline early.

UMERC has warned complying with the law will require over $3 billion in investments, projecting escalating power bill charges as a result, reaching $87 more a month in 2040. Environmentalists contend the numbers are inflated, and they haven’t yet been OK’d by regulators.

“There’s nothing worse for the environment or the economy than energy poverty,” said Prestin, in previous testimony in support of the bills. He warned the energy standards would force Yoopers to bear the cost of the gas plants on top of new solar and wind farms, leading to an exodus of business.

“We’ll lose thousands of good paying jobs and thousands of residents potentially over the Wisconsin border,” he said.

Even with limited Democratic support the bills have a long road ahead. They must clear the GOP-controlled House and move through the Democratically held Senate, as well as garner support from Whitmer.

The energy standards were the governor’s “signature clean energy and climate legislative accomplishment,” Occhipinti said, and many legislators support the requirements and don’t want to see them drawn back.

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