$129 Million Grant to Boost Renewable Energy in Michigan
Funding Details
A $129 million grant from the federal government has been authorized for Michigan’s efforts to reduce climate pollution. The grants were made public today by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Objectives and Initiatives
The Renewables Ready Communities Program (RRC Program) will be established with the help of the grant money. The initiative includes:
- Supporting local and tribal governments in their efforts to use local procedures to approve and host utility-scale renewable energy and energy storage.
- Establishing the Brownfield Renewable Energy Pilot Program to finance renewable energy initiatives on potentially polluted commercial or industrial properties.
- Strengthening EGLE’s Renewable Energy Academy to develop technical assistance for local and tribal governments to improve planning, siting, and permitting processes.
- Creating a Renewables Ready Communities Strategic Plan to determine where and how the state should focus its efforts on brownfield and utility-scale renewable energy projects in order to achieve the 2030 targets.
- Developing the labor force required to construct the necessary renewable energy projects.
Significance and Impact
The grant is expected to help Michigan meet its challenging targets of 60% renewable energy by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as outlined in Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate plan.
According to Erin Newman, the EPA’s Region 5 Climate Change Mitigation Coordinator, the funding will ensure that Michigan’s communities have the resources they need to protect the environment and bring clean energy manufacturing jobs back to the state.
Endorsements from Lawmakers
Congressman Dan Kildee and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell have both expressed their support for the grant, stating that it will fund important initiatives to address the climate crisis, lower air pollution, advance environmental justice, and hasten America’s transition to clean energy.
