Michigan Open Letter on Clean Energy and Green Jobs

July 19, 2012 | 5:12 pm
Jeff Deyette
Director of State Policy and Analysis

More than 140 academics, scientists and experts in Michigan have signed an open letter in support of ramping up Michigan’s renewable electricity standard to 25 percent by 2025. The experts say increasing reliance on renewables would help the economy in several ways, including redirecting money spent on coal imports to homegrown fuel sources. Increasing the state’s reliance on clean energy has the added benefit of reducing air pollution, protecting the Great Lakes and other water resources, and reining in carbon emissions, according to the letter.

Voters likely will decide this fall whether utilities should be required to use renewable resources — such as wind, solar, and biomass — to produce 25 percent of the electricity they generate.