Edward Smith, edward.smith@sierraclub.org
Lansing, MI – The Dirty Truth is that Michigan’s largest utilities are not transitioning to clean energy fast enough to limit the worst impacts of our changing climate, according to a new report from the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club’s third installment of its Dirty Truth About Utility Climate Pledges report is released as lawmakers in Lansing work through a variety of clean energy bills, and after utilities have had time to incorporate benefits from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act into their energy plans.
Consumers Energy backslid by moving from 74 out of 100 (B) last year to 67 out of 100 (B) this year. DTE remains one of the worst utilities in the nation with a score of 25 out of 100 (D). High scores reflecting a real shift to renewable energy are attainable, and Michigan need not look further than the Northern Indiana Public Service Company, which received a score of 92 out of 100 this year.
DTE’s score remains low because it has the 7th most coal-burning electric capacity without a retirement date before 2030 of the 77 utilities evaluated in our report. DTE’s score slightly improved because unrelenting advocacy by environmental and justice-centered organizations during the legally-mandated energy planning process, which saw the utility begrudgingly move from planning 1.6 gigawatts to nearly 4 gigawatts of clean energy while decreasing its planned gas from 2.3 gigawatts to 1.1 gigawatts. The reduction in planned new gas is because the Blue Water combined cycle gas plant was in the planning phase during the first two versions of this report, but it’s now operational, so it’s no longer considered a new planned gas power plant.
Consumers’ Energy score backslid because it plans to buy four existing gas plants before 2030 while it increased electric generation capacity from coal and gas between 2021 and 2022, but didn’t increase its clean energy plans to account for the additional generation, so it saw a decrease in its score.
Sierra Club assigned utilities a score based on their plans in three areas: 1) commitments to retire coal by 2030, 2) plans to build gas through 2030, 3) plans to build or purchase clean energy by 2030. The score is on a scale of 0 to 100, with a utility earning points by committing to retire coal and adding clean energy and losing points by adding new gas.
Statement from Andrew Sarpolis, Michigan Field Manager for the Sierra Club:
“If DTE or Consumers Energy wanted to be national leaders in the transition to clean energy, they would each have an A letter grade like utilities in Indiana and Oklahoma. It’s clear that Michigan utilities will not seriously move to renewable energy on their own. Michigan utilities are not taking their role seriously in providing affordable and reliable clean energy, while limiting the worst impacts of our changing climate. Lawmakers in Lansing need to listen to their voters and be champions for clean energy because we will not get anywhere by listening to utility lobbyists greenwashing their dirty power plans to maintain the status quo and maximize their shareholders’ profits at the expense of future generations.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.