Pages tagged "renewable energy"
Latest headlines show renewable energy going mainstream
I start most mornings at MEC by browsing the day's environmental headlines, mainly from email newsletters that I highly recommend-Midwest Energy News, InsideClimate News, Environmental Health News, The Daily Climate and Food and Environment Reporting Network, among others-so I'm used to seeing plenty of promising news about the rise of renewable energy.
Read moreMichigan's energy overhaul: What's in it and how we got here
After more than two years of negotiations, countless hours of committee hearings, numerous variations on several bills, untold column inches of news coverage and a dizzying series of false starts, dead ends and shifts of the political winds, the epic effort to overhaul Michigan's energy policy finally drew to a close Thursday evening.
Read moreSenate energy plan: Summer school needed to fix failing grades
The Michigan Senate is likely to vote this week on a pair of bills to reform our state's energy policy. Throughout the debates leading up to this point, MEC has maintained that any credible strategy for Michigan's energy future must accomplish five goals: control costs for utility customers; minimize the risks of future price spikes; protect natural resources and public health; promote economic development; and improve reliability.
Read moreMEC staffer helps Traverse City schools harness the sun for energy and education
Editor's note: Kate Madigan is MEC's northern Michigan representative and climate and energy specialist.
Read moreOn retirement day for some old coal plants, bad state policies keep others limping along
You may have noticed a lot of news stories lately about coal-fired power plants. That's because-with federal regulations kicking in to protect public health-today marks the end of the operating permits for a number of coal plants in Michigan, including Consumers Energy's oldest generating units, sometimes charitably described as the "Classic Seven."
Read moreReport finds rapid growth in Michigan solar jobs
Michigan's solar industry employed 2,779 people in 2015, a 32 percent increase from 2014, according to industry data released Wednesday.
Read moreCalifornia's gas catastrophe raises questions about Michigan's vast storage fields
Editor's note: News of the massive natural gas leak from an underground storage reservoir near Los Angeles made us curious about the implications for Michigan. We knew there were similar storage facilities here, but we've learned that Michigan has more of them than any other state. While state officials say those facilities are held to strict construction and maintenance standards, the California leak raises questions about Michigan's ability to prevent a similar incident here. As we see it, the public safety and climate risks of underground natural gas storage are further cause for Michigan's political leaders to make a strong commitment to clean and increasingly affordable renewable energy sources.
Read moreIt's getting hard to keep up with solar's growth
News of the solar power industry's growth has been so fast and furious lately that it's hard to stay on top of it all.
Read moreAt pivotal moment for climate, two Michigan marches seek action, justice
Two landmark marches for climate justice are coming up in Michigan.
Read moreMEC's House Energy testimony: 5 takeaways
Spring temperatures aren't all that's heating up in Lansing. With Michigan's 2008 clean energy laws set to plateau at the end of the year, policymakers are debating a handful of competing proposals for what our state's energy future should look like. (We say "plateau" and not "expire" because, if lawmakers took no action, utilities would have an ongoing requirement to meet the existing standards.)
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