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Bipartisan legislation introduced in Lansing would allow for the use of microgrids.
“As a state, we should strive to find innovative ways to promote energy independence, reliability and resiliency, and this legislation is a step in that direction,” said Ed Rivet, executive director of the Michigan Conservative Energy Forum. “This commonsense, bipartisan legislation will enable distributed energy producers to keep the power flowing during times of outages, utilizing their energy systems to their full potential. This is crucial for powering essential services and maximizing the value of renewable energy systems.”
The bill would enable facilities with renewable energy systems to disconnect from the main electric grid and continue using electricity produced on-site during times of power outages.
Under the current framework, these facilities are unable to generate electricity from their own renewable energy systems during outages on the main grid.
The legislation would impact facilities like schools, hospitals, water treatment plants and other essential service providers.
It also calls for a study on the use of microgrids for residential customers.
Supporters of the bill say it’s a step toward energy independence, reliability, and resiliency.
