By DANIEL SCHOENHERR

Capital News Service

LANSING — The Upper Peninsula has seen a significant reduction in air emissions in large part because of its development of renewable energy projects, according to a recent Public Service Commission report.

The achievement comes as federal data shows last year was the biggest for solar and wind generation nationwide.

Tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act, combined with region-specific advantages, are fueling the growth, former UP Energy Task Force member and Michigan Technological University professor Roman Sidortsov said.

While energy bills are likely to rise over the next decade, in-state power generation is expected to dampen the price hike, according to Sidortsov and Doug Jester, the managing partner in clean energy consulting firm 5Lakes Energy.

The company, based in Northport, works with nonprofits, businesses and governments on clean energy issues.

The main incentive for renewable energy development in the UP is the high cost to deliver electricity from Wisconsin and Canada, Sidortsov said.

Utility company data shows that UP residents typically pay 30% more for electricity when their local utilities purchase power from out-of-state suppliers like Wisconsin Public Power compared to in-state sources such as the Michigan Public Power Agency.

Over half the cost of that power comes from the delivery fee, Sidortsov said.

“When you have such high rates, you can make a really great case for building local generation and essentially cutting a significant portion of the cost,” he said.

And solar is among the cheapest power sources, costing 18% to 60% of the price of coal-generated electricity, according to industry estimates.

Renewable energy development has additionally been boosted by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which reduces federal taxes on eligible projects by 30% — plus an additional 10% in historically fossil fuel-dependent areas.

According to the Public Service Commission’s December 2024 report, “siting difficulties” for a 500-acre solar project in Escanaba was a significant obstacle to renewable energy progress in the UP.

The Upper Peninsula Power Co.’s 2019 Chandler Solar Project, which would have produced enough power for about 16% of households north of the Mackinac Bridge, was cancelled after failing to acquire required permits.

“There’s still some strings that local communities can pull to slow, but not quash, the energy projects,” Sidortsov said.

The city’s planning commission meeting minutes still show a history of opposition from residents.

It took four years for a similar development further from the city, the Renegade Solar Project, to get the necessary permits.

Construction of that project is now underway and is expected to be completed in 2026.

Sidortsov and Jester said getting permits is a challenging but important step in a renewable project’s process, and that community feedback is critical when developers are making decisions.

Sidortsov said most Escanaba residents who attended utility planning meetings weren’t opposed to small community solar projects, like one at the Delta County Airport.

Many of their concerns were about the use of agricultural land for the project, he said. 

Two ongoing Upper Peninsula Power Co. projects on contaminated former mine sites — Groveland Mine Solar in Dickinson County and the Republic Solar Project in Marquette County — have been endorsed by multiple UP trade organizations.

All three solar projects are expected to be operational by 2028, according to the report. If completed on-time, they will increase renewable capacity in the UP by over 70%.

According to 2024 U.S. Energy Information Administration data, 11% of Michigan’s electricity comes from renewable sources — far short of the state’s goal in the MI Healthy Climate Plan to have 50% by 2030.

Achieving that goal is possible, Sidortsov said, but whether it’s met is a “whole other story.”

On President Donald Trump’s first day back in office, he signed an executive order freezing federal clean energy initiative funding for 90 days to review whether the funding aligns with the new administration’s policies.

That move signals uncertainty for renewable energy growth, Sidortsov said, although there has yet to be significant opposition to the MI Healthy Climate Plan in the Legislature.

“Trump is in the White House,” he said. “He’s not in Michigan.”