New Law Creates Renewable Energy Development Opportunities in Michigan

Together, Michigan’s Governor and Legislature have created new opportunities for energy development in Michigan, setting aggressive clean energy goals and addressing project siting bottlenecks. Public Act 233, a siting reform bill adopted alongside amendments to the state’s renewable energy targets, transfers zoning approval authority from local governments to the Michigan Public Service Commission for renewable energy and storage projects of a certain size. The Commission Staff have been working since Spring with stakeholders, including Potomac Law Group, to propose filing instructions and procedures for renewable energy developers’ applications for siting approval under Public Act 233.

The Commission is currently evaluating the Staff’s draft siting implementation proposal alongside formal comments and reply comments in Case No. U-21547. We expect an order from the Commission approving the final requirements and instructions sometime in the next couple months. The new siting process will be available when Public Act 233 takes effect, beginning November 29, 2024.

Opponents of renewable energy development, meanwhile, continue to seek ways to slow or derail the siting reforms, including through obstructive local ordinance amendments intended to exploit perceived ambiguities in Public Act 233. There is “talk on the street” of an effort by some local units of government to bring a formal legal challenge to either the upcoming Commission order or Public Act 233 itself, or both, ahead of the effective date at the end of November.

As longtime counsel to renewable energy and storage developers and their trade associations in Michigan, the attorneys at Potomac Law have a deep and sophisticated understanding of the regulatory process in Michigan, particularly at the Public Service Commission and with local siting and permitting issues. Our extensive knowledge of the underlying legal landscape and the current political and regulatory environment uniquely positions us to be vital partners for you in your strategic planning for your projects designed to help meet the state’s aggressive new renewable energy and storage targets. We would be happy to talk with you about your project(s) and aid in addressing any siting or other renewable energy concerns.

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