Press Releases

Protect Michigan’s Energy Siting Reforms: Preserve Property Rights, Jobs, and Economic Growth

TAGS:
100% Clean Power State Climate Action
Press Contact: Emily Halvorson

To: Interested Parties
From: Evergreen Action Midwest Deputy Director Courtney Brady
Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Re: Protect Michigan’s Energy Siting Reforms: Preserve Property Rights, Jobs, and Economic Growth

In 2023, Michigan enacted commonsense updates to the state’s energy siting and permitting process. The reforms in PA 233 give landowners more freedom to utilize their property, expand community engagement, and unlock private investment and job growth.

Now, some lawmakers are seeking to repeal those reforms before they have even fully taken effect. Repeal would mean reinstating significant red tape, limiting economic opportunity, and sending a signal that Michigan is not serious about competing for clean energy jobs and development. These reforms were designed to balance local input with clear, consistent statewide standards—exactly the kind of approach that other states have embraced.

Recent polling shows strong public support for this approach: 73 percent of voters—including 87 percent of Democrats, 68 percent of independents, and 65 percent of Republicans—say it is important to make it easier to build new clean energy projects. Rolling back these reforms would go against the will of a clear, bipartisan majority of Michigan voters.

What Michigan’s Energy Siting Reforms Do

Support landowner freedom
Property owners should be able to choose how to use their land, including leasing it for clean energy projects. These reforms protect that right while ensuring local communities are still part of the process.

Attract private investment and job creation
States that have updated their energy permitting frameworks (Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and now Michigan) are better positioned to attract clean energy manufacturing, construction, and infrastructure jobs. Michigan’s reforms send the right signal to investors and developers: the state is ready to build.

Maintain strong community input
Under the updated process, developers are required to host public meetings and engage with local residents before projects move forward. Local governments are also granted intervention rights in the Michigan Public Service Commission process. Smaller projects remain fully under local control.

Ensure tangible community benefits
Developers will carry out community benefits agreements in host communities.  These agreements help guarantee that projects deliver real, lasting benefits to the places where they’re built. These may include workforce training, park or road improvements, or direct contributions to local nonprofits that serve local residents.

Enhance reliability and affordability
Allowing more clean energy projects to move forward contributes to a more reliable and cost-effective grid. As energy prices fluctuate, clean energy can provide long-term price stability and reduce reliance on out-of-state energy sources.

Repeated Myths About the Reform vs. the Facts

MYTH: These reforms take away local control.
FACT: Local communities still have a clear and formal voice in the process, including intervention rights and public engagement. The reforms prevent arbitrary project denials while preserving transparency and accountability.

MYTH: This is a government mandate.
FACT: These updates reduce unnecessary government barriers and empower landowners to make decisions about their own property. They reflect a balanced, streamlined permitting approach, not a top-down directive.

MYTH: Only corporations benefit.
FACT: Energy projects support local contractors, labor, and small businesses. They generate local tax revenue and fund amenities through community agreements. These are direct benefits to Michigan communities and workers.

MYTH: Clean energy development will take up too much land.
FACT: Even under a high-growth scenario, solar and wind projects would account for only about 0.55 percent—less than a half percent—of Michigan’s total land area. Projects will be strategically located near infrastructure and often on non-agricultural or dual-use land. This is a manageable footprint, especially compared to other infrastructure, and does not pose a threat to Michigan’s farmland or open spaces.

Summary

  • This is about cutting red tape and respecting property rights. Repealing these reforms would limit landowner freedom and deter investment.
  • Michigan needs a fair, consistent energy permitting framework. That’s how the state will attract new business, keep energy costs down, and improve reliability.
  • These reforms have bipartisan support, are practical, and encourage economic growth. Other states have successfully implemented similar updates and are seeing the benefits.
  • Communities still have a seat at the table. The process is participatory, not exclusionary.

Repealing Michigan’s updated energy permitting reforms would reverse important progress on economic development, local empowerment, and energy affordability. These reforms represent a modern, balanced approach that respects landowners, supports local communities, and positions Michigan to compete for the next generation of energy investment.