“Following pushback from ratepayer and clean energy advocates who argued DTE Energy was moving too slowly away from fossil fuels, the electricity utility has agreed to exit coal-fired power production by 2032, three years earlier than previously planned.
Calling the Monroe plant “a massive polluter,” the group’s Michigan field manager, Andrew Sarpolis, hailed the promise of an earlier shutdown.
“Every additional year of its operation exacerbates climate change and harms our communities,” Sarpolis said. “By retiring the plant sooner, we can have a greater positive impact on the state’s health and climate.”
Some signatories also argue the plan doesn’t go far enough. Soulardarity and We Want Green Too, two signatory groups, urged the legislature to pass laws that support the energy transition and protect ratepayers, from enabling community solar to holding utilities more financially accountable for power outages.
“Ultimately, we saw this deal as an advancement that creates greater possibility for a just energy future than the alternative,” the groups said in a statement. “But we are clear-eyed about its limitations, its drawbacks, and the need for further actions.
The so-called Integrated Resource Plan now has to be approved by the MPSC. The next meeting is July 26.”
Read the full article at Bridge Michigan