Environment
Renewable Energy Plan Will Green Our Economy and Environment October is Energy Awareness Month, and we are not only commemorating energy awareness this month, but celebrating energy innovation as well. In September, my colleagues and I voted to pass new, comprehensive renewable energy legislation in Michigan, and on October 6, Governor Granholm signed the package into law. It stands to create thousands of jobs, save consumers billions of dollars in future energy costs, and usher in the use of cleaner and greener energy sources in Michigan. This package will create a 10% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that will encourage investment in Michigan’s renewable energy sector and create new manufacturing jobs in the wind and solar industries. It will save ratepayers $4.3 billion in avoided costs over the next twenty years by not paying for unnecessary new baseload plants, and includes specific safeguards to protect our most vulnerable citizens, such as those on fixed incomes and senior citizens, from large rate increases. It ensures that our energy needs will be met by energy produced in Michigan and by Michigan workers, establishing much needed energy independence from skyrocketing oil, gas and electricity prices. This legislation also creates energy efficiency standards to reduce energy used—and energy wasted—ultimately keeping costs down. According to the United States Department of Energy, Michigan is one of the top eight states in the nation for potential wind production, and one of four states that is expected to create more than 30,000 manufacturing jobs in the wind sector alone. And many of those jobs can be right here in Genesee County. As the birthplace of General Motors, we pioneered the automotive and manufacturing revolution. With our unflagging work ethic and industrial infrastructure already in place, new green collar jobs building wind turbines and solar panels can replace all the blue collar jobs we’ve lost in recent years. And that transition is already underway. General Motors has announced that they will be building a new engine plant in Flint for their long range electric car, the Chevy Volt, which is expected to retain about 300 jobs. In September, ground was broken on the Swedish Biogas International Center of Energy Excellence Project in Flint which will produce alternative energy from waste removed from the city's wastewater treatment plant. The new Center of Energy Excellence is one of the first in the state and is a collaboration of Swedish Biogas International (SBI), Kettering University, and the city of Flint, with support from the C.S. Mott Foundation, Swedish agencies, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The city will be able to pioneer biofuel technology and generate jobs with this new waste-to-energy/bio-methane center. Renewable energy manufacturers are investing billions of dollars in expanding their capacities every day, and Michigan already has the ideal environmental and industrial atmosphere to capitalize on this trend. This new legislation has the state in position to become a major player in the rapidly-growing renewable energy sector and turn the water, wind, and sun all around us into energy and jobs.
October 10, 2008 by Senator Deborah Cherry
Posted in Environment | No Comments >>
