On Friday, June 27, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm called for a system of feed-in tariffs in the state “like those used in Germany” as she addressed the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association’s annual Energy Fair. Addressing nearly 1,000 attendees of the fair near the wind swept shores of Lake Michigan, Granholm said that she expected the state Senate to pass a RPS bill that day and now it was time to move feed-in tariffs up the policy agenda. Michigan Governor Granholm Puts Feed-in Tariffs on State Agenda Michigan Governor Granholm Puts Feed-in Tariffs on State Agenda
Granholm, Michigan’s first woman governor, had previously said that she would not act on feed law proposals in Michigan until RPS legislation had passed.
Friday night the Senate passed its version of an RPS. Previously the House had passed the governor’s RPS bill. The two versions must now be reconciled in conference committee.
The governor had previously suggested that Michigan should emulate Germany in the development of its renewable energy industry. Granholm’s statement at the energy fair was her most explicit yet that she plans to make feed-in tariffs her top policy priority once the RPS passes.
Representative Kathleen Law, who introduced HB 5218, the Michigan Renewable Energy Sources Act, gave two workshops on her policy proposal at the energy fair.
Governor Granholm has developed a national following as a rising star in the Democratic Party.
