Why are Michigan utility companies roadblocking rooftop solar progress?
Laura Sherman, guest writer  Michigans utilities have recently been making commitments to decarbonize and increase renewable energy. Consumers Energy recently unveiled a long-term integrated resource plan that president and CEO Garrick Rochow said would make the company, a national leader in the clean energy transformation  by moving away from coal and toward renewables in a shift toward 90% clean energy by 2040. In an ad campaign from DTE Energy last year, shots of wind turbines, solar panels and idyllic wildlife accompanied narration that DTE believes, to lead, we have to do whats right  and so the company is, working even harder to create a future where producing affordable, reliable energy doesnt contribute to climate change.  But in conflict with this green image of progress is the way both companies have opposed the ability of Michigan residents and businesses to choose to install solar panels. An increasing number of Michiganders of all walks of life have adopted rooftop solar to cut both their energy bills and their emissions footprint. ALTERNATE VIEW:Michigan utilities make rooftop solar the bogeyman, but they are wrong  Rooftop solar gives customers a way to help Michigan go above and beyond utility carbon reduction goals. The amount of rooftop and other types of customer-sited solar is 16 times higher than it was in 2010, according to data from the Michigan Public Service Commission. But because it has been growing so fast, rooftop solar has hit a roadblock in the form of a statutory cap on the amount of rooftop solar that a utility must connect in its service territory under state law. DTE and Consumers Energy, despite their stated support for renewable energy, are the biggest forces stopping this cap from being removed. When the cap is hit for a given utility, work stops for the solar installers that provide thousands of jobs in the state, and people who want to get solar for their homes and businesses are out of luck. In a letter to the Michigan House Energy Committee in May, 21 businesses and business organizations stated, The cap only serves to stifle and harm businesses who want to be able to create jobs and spur economic activity in our state.  So a bipartisan group of state lawmakers introduced HB 4236, which would eliminate the cap. The legislation appeared to have enough votes to pass out of committee a few weeks ago. But then DTE and Consumers Energy worked their influence in Lansing and the bill has stalled. More from LSJ opinion  The utilities argue that rooftop solar is a particularly expensive form of energy. In fact, rooftop solar saves money for all utility customers overall because it means less of a need for utility-owned power plants and grid infrastructure. Ratepayers cover the costs of those capital projects on their electric bills through charges that also pay the utilities a return on their investment. But distributed generation like rooftop solar offers a more economical alternative to these projects. To be clear, the utilities have taken real action to back up their talk about clean energy. They have significantly expanded the role of wind and solar power in their portfolios in a short amount of time, primarily because wind and solar are the cheapest forms of new generation. But renewable energy is for everyone, not just the big utilities. DTE and Consumers Energy cannot, on one hand, claim to be leaders in the transition to a green economy while, on the other hand, denying their customers the ability to build renewable energy for themselves. Laura Sherman is the president of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council.