The percentage of Michigan local governments that say they have or are considering renewable energy goals has doubled since 2019.Local officials also report that a variety of energy issues, such as energy infrastructure zoning and planning for...
In November, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a landmark energy law that sets an ambitious goal for the state to generate 100% of its energy from renewable resources by 2040. With the law, Michigan joins its neighbors in Illinois and Minnesota,...
The North American Colloquium (NAC) is a forum that strengthens a wider North American conversation and more fruitful trilateral cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the U.S., led by the International Policy Center at the University of Michigan’s...
This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding a variety of energy issues and policies in their jurisdictions, including the relevance of particular energy policies for their communities, whether the jurisdiction...
A solar project in Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula is the first to use state grant funding to clean up contaminated industrial property. The 500 kilowatt solar installation planned at a vacant eyesore is effectively a pilot project that...
The sprawling Roscoe Wind Complex stretches across four counties and 84,000 acres in West Texas — bigger than five Manhattan islands. Located about three hours west of Fort Worth, it’s comprised of 627 turbines that could generate up to 782...
Approximately three out of every four Americans—76 percent—support hotly debated net energy metering policies, which allow residents with wind turbines and solar panels to sell excess energy back to the grid at retail rates. That’s according to a...
In the near future, the Michigan legislature could redefine ‘renewable energy.’ Barry Rabe discusses the potential ramifications with Kate Abbey-Lambertz of the Huffington Post.
In “Michigan May Redefine Fuel From Burning Tires As Renewable...
Join the students of PUBPOL 750: Renewable Energy Policy at the State & Local Level for a Student Symposium on State & Local Renewable Energy Policy. Students will share their research on the web of state and local policies facilitating and hindering renewable energy deployment in California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and Wyoming.
Free and Open to the Public Panelists: Eric Lupher, Director of Local Affairs, Citizens Research Council of Michigan Sanya Carley, Assistant Professor, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University Thomas P. Lyon, Professor, Ross School of Business and School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan Abstract Michigan and twenty-eight other states have enacted legislation that mandates increases in the amount of electricity that they use from renewable sources.
Chen Lyu**, Sam Fleckenstein**, Zach Nerod**, University of Michigan
Texas has long been a leader in energy production. Blessed with windy, wide-open plains, ample sunshine and large oil and gas deposits, Texas has attracted leading entrepreneurs and companies that continue to drive investment and politics in the...
Lanika Sanders**, Lanzhao Cheng**, Brooke Bulmash**, Upasana Roy**, University of Michigan
Amid the intensifying impacts of a changing climate and the need to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy presents a critical area of policy and planning that requires states to reconsider the energy policy status quo....
Sophie Daudon**, Spencer Checkoway**, Caroline Resor**, University of Michigan
With historically strong governmental support in its climate goals, Washington looks to continue to be a leader in renewable energy policy and deployment. While the state could have rested on its nation-leading hydroelectric generation, Washington...
Katherine Cafaro*, Marisol Mendez**, Evan Shea**, University of Michigan
The Southeastern state of North Carolina has a diverse landscape that can be separated into three parts, the Blue Ridge Mountains to the West, the Piedmont Plateau in the center where most of the state's population resides, and the Coastal Plain to...
Izzy Beshouri**, Natalia Harris**, Jenna Stolzman**, University of Michigan
Over the last two decades, the state of Oklahoma has undergone a significant transition in its electricity generation mix. Notably, wind energy has emerged as a prominent source, contributing 44% of the state’s total net generation in 2022....
Christian Koch*, Nathan Legault*, Saif Ur Rehman*, Elizabeth Wallace*, University of Michigan
As market forces and policy interventions continue to facilitate a renewable energy transition, U.S. states are increasing their shares of renewable energy technologies. In recent years, Midwest states, such as Michigan – which have historically...
Gus Cordero*, Kacey Eis*, Cecilia Garibay*, Tyler Orcutt*, University of Michigan
Like many other states, Illinois is moving toward decarbonizing its energy sector. A major part of this effort is shifting to renewable electricity generation. As the nation’s third-largest net electricity supplier, Illinois’ energy sector...
In this memo, we examine the existing ways states have crafted legislation on property taxes for utility-scale solar developments and find two main categories of existing legislation—”exemption or abatement,” and “exemption and replacement.” We...
This study inventories the current property tax treatments for utility-scale wind developments across all 50 states. This inventory was created entirely with publicly available information from a variety of web-based sources and is accurate as of...
As solar development increases, states face new challenges in regulating and taxing solar facilities. To better understand an important piece of the current regulatory landscape for solar, this study inventories property tax treatment for...
