LANSING, Mich. – Wednesday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement after passage of legislation to produce more clean, reliable energy in Michigan. The bills will lower costs, create jobs, and protect our air, water, and public health. The Governor called for clean energy legislation in her What’s Next Address, a first-of-its-kind speech delivered in August laying out a policy vision for the fall after the Michigan Legislature’s unprecedented productivity over the first eight months of the year.
“With passage of these game-changing bills, Michigan will become a national leader on clean energy. These bills will help us make more clean, reliable energy right here in Michigan, creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs, and lowering utility costs for every Michigander by an average of $145 a year. Getting this done will also reduce our reliance on foreign fuel sources, while protecting our air, water, and public health. I am grateful for the commonsense amendments that ensure local communities can work with utilities on developing clean energy sites. People want to know that they can start a family, career, or business in a state that will provide them with strong economic opportunities and fight for their children’s future. Today we are protecting everything we know and love about pure Michigan.”
Michigan’s Clean Energy Leadership & Opportunity
Earlier this year, 5 Lakes Energy released a report on the clean energy package. The report found that in addition to saving Michigan households an average of $145 a year in energy costs, policies like the ones in the package and would help secure $7.8 billion more in federal investment from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and create nearly 160,000 jobs.
The 2023 Clean Jobs America Report stated that clean energy businesses in Michigan added more than 5,400 workers in 2022 and now employ 123,983 Michiganders. Michigan now leads the Midwest in number of clean energy workers.
Michiganders support clean energy. The 100 percent clean energy is popular. In a poll Evergreen released in April with Data for Progress, 65 percent of voters supported legislation to transition the state’s energy grid to 100 percent clean energy and 73 percent want the Legislature to do more to keep energy bills affordable.
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