LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – As the Michigan House of Representatives considers new legislation to grant more state oversight to environmental projects, some representatives have shared their concerns. 

State Representative Jaime Greene (R-Richmond) criticized House Bills 5120-5123, introduced Tuesday, as they would give authority to the Michigan Public Service Commission regarding the permitting for large scale solar and wind construction projects, rather than local governments. 

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“We deserve to have a say in what happens in our own backyards,” said Rep. Greene. “This is a blatant attempt to silence our voices, and a ruthless power grab that will deprive us of our ability to hold people accountable for the impact these projects have on our environment, economy, and quality of life.” 

Another objection according to Greene was that the MPSC could force the projects on local communities with little regard for residents’ concerns, and the community would have no ability to hold the unelected commission members accountable. 

House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) also objected to the proposed plan. 

“Democrats are taking the next step to ban natural gas, pivot to unreliable wind and solar power, and override local communities’ decisions,” said Representative Hall. “They want to close dependable power plants and let the Whitmer administration force wind turbines and solar farms into communities against the will of local residents. Democrats’ unfair, overbearing mandates will rob Michiganders of their local control while forcing them to pay more for less reliable electricity.”

Previously, House Democrats introduced legislation which would require 100% carbon-free electricity generation within a few years for the state, a plan that also doesn’t address the recent blackouts according to Rep. Hall. 

“The people I talk to are concerned about recent power outages, and they’re concerned about their monthly bills,” Rep. Hall added. “It would actually make our grid even less reliable by shifting to weather-dependent wind and solar — with technology produced in coal-powered factories in China.”

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He also advocated for a new plan that would not dramatically increase consumers’ rates for electricity. 

“Instead of sacrificing our grid and putting families in the dark to make a political statement, let’s focus on delivering affordable, reliable electricity to the people of our state,” said Representative Hall. 

Advocates of the new bills include Governor Gretchen Whitmer who has suggested the practice of transferring more power to the MPSC in the past during her ‘What’s Next’ Address. 

“Let’s permit clean energy projects through the MPSC—just like all other sources of energy,” Gov. Whitmer said, “ This ensures local perspectives are reflected in the planning process while also allowing us to move faster on installation.”

House Democrats previously introduced House Bills 4759-4761, which would force Michigan electric companies to use entirely carbon-free power sources by 2035, also dramatically reducing the types of energy that could be used. 

HB 4759 in particular would redefine “renewable energy source” to exclude “petroleum, nuclear fuel, natural gas, coal, hydrogen, solid waste, biofuel,” and only accept renewable energy resources that come from the “sun or from thermal inertia of the earth and minimizes the output of toxic material in the conversion of the energy.” The bill removes biomass as an option but allows for “solar and solar thermal energy, wind energy, kinetic energy of moving water.” 

The newly introduced set of bills were referred to the Committee on Energy, Communications, and Technology for further review.