Biomass, carbon-capture tech are big sticking points in clean energy bill talks - MLive.com

Biomass, carbon-capture tech are big sticking points in clean energy bill talks - mlive.com

LANSING, MI – How fast Michigan moves toward a clean energy portfolio has been the talk of the summer among Democrat state lawmakers.

Clean energy bill sponsors in the Michigan Senate took public testimony during a committee hearing last week, capping off recent weeks of talks with energy industry players and climate action proponents. Among the most prominent sticking points in debates over a suite of proposed clean energy bills are whether biomass power generation and carbon-capture technology should be categorized as renewable.

Proposed legislation in both the state House and Senate are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower energy costs for Michigan residents. The bills would force utilities off fossil fuels faster than planned and require heavy investment in energy efficiencies and reduced costs for lower-income households.

Democrats in Lansing divided that checklist of issues between the House and Senate and are sharing progress notes.

Senators are tackling legislation to set a 60% renewable and 100% carbon-free energy standard, along with energy waste reduction benchmarks for regulated utilities and power co-ops. They also may add climate impacts and equity to factors state utility regulators may consider when making decisions.

In the House, Democrats are focused on a bill to tackle renewable energy generation siting issues.

Bill sponsor state Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, said lawmakers stayed busy this summer listening to input from both supporters and critics of the clean energy bill package.

“We’ve been honing and shaping it with that feedback and the interplay between the House and the Senate sponsors,” she said Friday in Traverse City.

Coffia said Democrats are willing to allow biomass power to be counted among renewable sources, but only under certain conditions. Just organic materials should fuel biomass plants, she argued.

“I think we’re holding the line as we cannot count tire burning as either a clean or a carbon-neutral technology, or have that be a part of this, because it’s neither of those things,” she said.

Related: Michigan Democrats begin hearings on carbon-free energy legislation

That issue came up during a Sept. 20 Senate committee hearing.

Gary Melow, director of Michigan Biomass, testified that the biomass industry is key to existing renewable energy credit systems and provides baseload power to the grid. The facilities often function like peaking power plants, able to ramp up or down electricity output at the request of the independent grid operator.

Melow argued for lawmakers to maintain scrap tires as allowable fuel with the other forest-based fuels because a steady stream of wood and other organic products is not always dependable. Biomass plants must fuel their steam turbines 24/7, he said.

“Fuel managers have to be nimble working with as many as 100 fuel vendors in a year to ensure a constant 30-day supply of fuel is stored on site,” Melow said.

And the tire-burning question isn’t the only sticky wicket.

Another major hangup in the clean energy legislation talks is carbon-capture technology. Proponents argue it can make lower-carbon emitting fossil fuels like natural gas even cleaner, while critics say it’s unproven and expensive technology which comes with problematic upstream greenhouse gas emissions.

There are additional concerns that without carbon-capture and sequestration, natural gas plants in Michigan may shut down before other baseload power generation is built out and lead to the loss of those power plant jobs.

That may ultimately prompt a compromise, said one climate action advocate.

“There are a number of gas plants that some of the more conservative Democrats are concerned about. I think labor is also concerned about what is the future of some of those plants. And so, politically, I think there is a push to incorporate (captured) carbon sequestration,” said Charlotte Jameson, top policy officer for nonprofit Michigan Environmental Council.

“We are trying to make that a narrow inclusion.”

Carbon capture and storage is a burgeoning technology meant to take streams of carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sites and then separate, treat and transport the chemicals to long-term storage.

Related: Whitmer to call for election protections, paid leave, 100% clean energy in new speech

Senate Republicans asked several questions about the proposed bills during an energy and environment committee hearing on Sept. 20. Questions were asked about power generation reliability and the cost-effectiveness of renewable and clean sources, among other issues.

One senator asked why Michigan should bother taking any climate action at all to reduce carbon emissions if China and India cannot be forced to do the same.

State Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, said he wants to know what Michigan will achieve if it makes these investments in clean energy and pays the financial cost to achieve the goals. He questioned whether it would make “any impact worldwide whatsoever.”

Dan Scripps, chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission replied that it’s a matter of the state doing its part to move in the direction of collective climate action and set a positive example.

“It’s one thing if California does something. I think it’s very different if an industrial state like Michigan shows climate leadership,” Scripps said.

Pushback on the proposed clean energy bill package wasn’t unexpected.

Coffia said she understands critics’ concerns, but we all have the responsibility to work for a clean and livable climate. She argued Michigan shares in that duty, which is also an opportunity to draw down incredible amounts of federal grant dollars to accelerate the clean energy transition.

“We have a unique heritage of building things and being on the cutting edge of manufacturing and technology. Clean energy is one of the fastest growing sectors for good paying jobs, which is something I know my communities want to hear and want to see happen,” Coffia said.

“We have a real opportunity. We know how to build things. We know how to innovate, and this is the future. So, us grabbing onto these federal dollars – these once-in-a-lifetime dollars – and really investing on the front end gives us a chance to be the leader that I think Michiganders know we are. It’s time to catch up.”

Climate action rally set for Michigan Capitol

Proponents of the proposed clean energy bill package in the Michigan Legislature intend to rally for their cause at the state Capitol this week.

A clean energy rally will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, at the Michigan Capitol. Climate action advocates will urge lawmakers to adopt the pending climate-related legislation.

Live music and speakers are planned throughout the day. Buses of students are expected to arrive from the University of Michigan main and Dearborn campuses, Michigan State University, Grand Valley State University, Western Michigan University, and Northern College.

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