Republican ‘MAGA’ bill would put 20% cap on solar in Michigan’s power grid

LANSING, MI — As sprawling solar farms and smaller-scale arrays are built out across Michigan, state Republican politicians propose placing a cap on the total amount connected to the state’s power grid.

The newly introduced MAGA Solar Act — short for Maximining American Grid Affordability — would require the state to limit solar power to not more than 20% of the electricity feeding the grid.

The bill, pitched by sponsor Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, as “a true conservative alternative to radical energy mandates” also creates a framework for independent community solar installations, traditionally opposed by the state’s biggest utilities.

The bill is one of a slew of proposals to emerge under GOP control of the Michigan House that would limit aspects of one of Democrats’ signature accomplishments in 2023, new laws requiring the state transition to 100% “clean” energy and swiftly ramp up renewable power like solar.

“The MAGA Solar Act puts Michigan families, workers, and landowners first – without government coercion or foreign dependency,” Markkanen said in a statement. “This is what responsible solar looks like.”

In recent years, bipartisan efforts to pass laws allowing for independent, non-utility community solar projects benefiting subscribers who participate through credits on utility bills have come up short.

While the MAGA Solar Act, House Bill 4590 introduced June 10 and co-sponsored by 22 other GOP representatives, bears resemblance to those efforts, environmental groups who boosted them in the past say for them the new Republican bill has several poison pills.

Chief among them is the cap on solar build-out in Michigan, which the bill’s sponsors say is meant to protect the grid from “instability” and prevent a “reckless overbuild of solar at the expense of ratepayers and reliability.”

“Having such a cap will really restrict our ability to meet clean energy goals and limit our access to cheap and clean energy across the state,” said Tim Minotas, deputy legislative and political director for the Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club. “We don’t want to artificially limit the market on solar.”

In 2023, large utility-scale solar installations made up 1% of electricity generated in Michigan, per federal figures. Renewables in general provided 11% of the state’s generation, mostly from wind power.

The purpose of the cap in the new bill would be to ensure utility ratepayers don’t foot the bill for “excess” amounts of solar generation if it doesn’t increase reliability or reduce costs, said Beau LaFave, Markkanen’s legislative director.

While it can save ratepayers money, alone solar can’t replace “baseload” generation that isn’t dependent on weather, and officials don’t project Michigan will reach close to 20% solar until the 2040s, he said.

Solar supporters say it offers cheap power and can be paired with grid-scale batteries to overcome limitations caused by inconsistent generation, but LaFave said that isn’t “realistic” right now.

“I think our standpoint is just to remind everybody that solar is not going to replace all of the forms of energy. It is a piece of the pie. Solar panels can’t replace natural gas,” LaFave said.

Republicans offer their take on community solar

The MAGA Solar Act does establish a pathway for Michiganders to benefit from community solar arrays, projects or purchasing programs where benefits flow to a group of individuals who subscribe to portions of the output from off-site installations.

They are called “locally distributed shared solar” facilities in the bill.

It would require the Michigan Public Service Commission to create rules around them, mandating utilities provide bill credits to subscribers of the third-party arrays proportional to electricity output for 25 years after they become operational.

Boosters say these projects help cut utility bills for participants and offer a way in for low-income households or renters who can’t install their own rooftop solar arrays.

The minimum savings on participants’ utility bills must be at least 10% under the bill. The independent solar developers would also be prohibited from using parts made in China, North Korea or Iran.

It also requires the state to establish financial incentives for projects that incorporate “agrivoltaic” practices, or the combination of crop or animal agriculture with solar.

The arrays also couldn’t be located on a site “where clear-cutting of densely forested public land has occurred for the purpose of solar development,” an apparent reference Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials’ short-lived plans to lease some state forestland near Gaylord for solar development.

Previous efforts to establish community solar laws in Michigan have run up against opposition from big utilities.

The state’s largest energy company, Consumers Energy, opposes the new bill, according to spokesperson Katie Carey.

Consumers argues this is because it would create a cost burden for its customers by requiring utilities to purchase power from community solar projects built by “unregulated” developers at uncompetitive rates.

“Not only does this force nonparticipating customers to pay more, but it also means that community solar subscribers are able to avoid paying their fair share of the costs to support the electric grid and the generation resources that ensure there is adequate power any time day or night,” she said.

LaFave said the bill’s backers take concerns seriously and are committed to listening to them as they continue to refine the legislation. Community solar supporters contend utility arguments around cost are overblown, and opposition stems from the potential that the independent arrays could eat into their business.

The bill has been referred to the House Energy Committee, which has not yet scheduled it for a hearing.

Minotas said while Sierra Club wants to see a Michigan community solar law, it takes issue with pieces of the GOP bill, like a requirement that third-party solar developers have at least 25-megawatt portfolios in other states, which he said could exclude smaller providers and Michigan businesses.

Still, community solar should appeal to conservatives as a form of “energy freedom,” he said, and a “silver lining” is that the bill gives an opportunity to drive the conversation forward on the topic, given support from a number of Republicans who are often at odds with clean energy policies.