(The Center Square) – Across Michigan, clean energy goals once debated as abstract ideas are beginning to reshape rural communities.
Utility-scale solar installations – often paired with large battery storage systems – are transforming large swaths of farmland into energy-producing “solar farms.”
While Michigan-based utility companies are implementing many of these projects, the swift shift to solar was largely initiated by sweeping policy changes adopted in Lansing.
From Lansing to Your Backyard
In 2023, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined fellow Democrats to pass a series of public acts cementing the state’s clean energy strategy.
Among other provisions, the legislation established a new statewide standard requiring utilities to generate 80% of their electricity from clean sources by 2035 and reach 100% clean energy by 2040.
At that time, Whitmer lauded the legislation for pushing Michigan to the forefront of the clean energy movement nationally.
“With passage of these game-changing bills, Michigan will become a national leader on clean energy. These bills will help us make more clean, reliable energy right here in Michigan,” Whitmer said. “Today we are protecting everything we know and love about pure Michigan.”
Since then, Republicans have been working aggressively to try to halt the steady shift to clean energy in the state, which they have labeled the “green new scam.”
In 2025, the Republican-held state House successfully passed two bills which would have changed the zoning laws for clean energy projects, as previously reported by The Center Square. State Rep. Greg Alexander, R-Huron, who introduced the bills, stated in January 2025 that it was time for more local control over clean energy operations.
“Local communities should have the final say on whether they want wind and solar sites within their borders,” Alexander said. “The Michigan Green New Deal . . . stripped locals of their authority to make such decisions and it amounted to a total lack of respect for the will of the people. I am working to rectify that wrong and bring this back to where the public has a say.”
Both of those bills died upon arrival in the Democrat-held Senate.
Utilities Respond to Clean Energy Mandates
Since the legislation took effect in 2023, utility companies have accelerated plans for large-scale solar projects across the state.
Dozens of projects are operating, under construction, or currently in the permitting and approval process, collectively covering tens of thousands of acres and representing billions of dollars in investment.
Though currently ranked 24th nationally for installed solar capacity, Michigan has ranked among the top states in recent years for new additions and projected growth. The Great Lakes State now has more than 2,500 megawatts of installed solar capacity, enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes, with thousands more megawatts planned in the coming years.
Under the state’s direction, electric providers are required to file plans with the Michigan Public Service Commission by 2028 detailing how they plan to meet the state’s aggressive clean energy goals.
As part of those Integrated Resource Plans, companies have also been directed by the commission to consider “affordability impacts,” “environmental justice,” and “energy storage targets.”
In Michigan, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy are the two major electric providers, providing electricity to a combined 4.1 million customers, or more than 80% of Michigan electric customers.
In an exclusive interview with Brian Wheeler, a media relations specialist for Consumers, he explained to The Center Square the major role solar is beginning to play in the company’s operations.
“Consumers Energy is actively developing flexible and affordable energy sources to meet our customers’ needs,” Wheeler said. He pointed to solar projects in Jackson County, Bay County, Barry County, Calhoun County, Kalamazoo County, and Alcona County.
While Wheeler said Consumers will introduce a more detailed plan with the commission in the first half of this year, he did specify that the company plans to “add 8,000 megawatts of competitively bid, utility‑scale solar power by 2040 as part of a balanced energy mix that meets Michigan’s growing needs.”
That ambitious expansion, Wheeler noted, is driven in large part by state policy.
“We are working toward 100% clean energy by 2040, in accordance with Michigan’s 2023 energy law,” he said.
Advocates Support Solar Expansion
With solar projects multiplying across the state, industry leaders and environmental groups argue the expansion is not only necessary to meet Michigan’s clean energy targets, but also makes economic sense.
The Solar Energy Industries Association, which represents solar and storage companies nationwide, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview that expanding solar capacity is one of the fastest ways to address rising electricity costs.
“Electricity prices in Michigan are rising faster than inflation. The fastest, lowest cost way to add power and bring down bills is to build more solar and energy storage,” said Andrew Linhares, Midwest state affairs director for SEIA.
Linhares added that solar and battery storage are playing an increasingly dominant role in new energy development.
“We need every source of new generation, but costs are rising right now, and solar and storage are among the few technologies that can be built right now,” he said. “Together, they accounted for all new capacity added to Michigan’s grid last year and represent 80% of planned new power additions through 2030.”
Environmental advocates echoed that position. Nick Dodge, communications director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview that solar will be critical to meeting the state’s clean energy goals, while also addressing affordability concerns.
“Solar energy is the quickest to bring online and one of the cheapest forms of energy available to us,” Dodge said. “It will be an essential part of meeting rising energy demand and work against skyrocketing energy costs.”
He also pointed to environmental and grid benefits of expanding solar development.
“The most positive aspect of solar is the speed in which we can bring it online. In comparison, big gas plants take years to build and saddle working Michigan families with millions of dollars in costs they have to pay over decades on their energy bills,” Dodge said. “It generates energy without emitting harmful pollution into our air, which helps protect the health of our families.”
Yet, as Michigan races toward its 2040 clean energy deadline, the debate is now shifting from Lansing to local town halls. Check back for next week’s installment in this series, which will take an inside look at one community grappling with the rapid expansion of solar farms.
