Take Action
This opportunity will benefit from strength in numbers – fill out this form to call for the inclusion of critical Environmental Justice Priorities.
When you sign on here, your name will be displayed publicly in support of the Environmental Justice Priorities listed below. We will deliver all signatures to decision-makers to show the mountain of support behind this legislation.
You may sign more than once in different capacities! Please feel free to add any comments in the space provided.
Stronger Still: Improving Upon the Clean Energy Future Plan with MEJC's Justice Considerations
To avert the worst of the climate crisis, we must center the well-being of people. We cannot have a clean energy future that leaves the most vulnerable communities behind. As an ally to the environmental justice community, MiCAN supports the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition (MEJC)'s policy priorities to improve and strengthen the existing Clean Energy Future Plan. See below and check out MEJC's website for more on their topline goals and specific legislation introduced in support of those goals. For further context, please read this letter sent to legislators and officials in the Whitmer administration, where you can also see members of the coalition that support this package.
Environmental Justice Priorities
100% Renewable Portfolio Standard
- Address significant concerns about using natural gas, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, nuclear power, biomass, waste-to-energy, landfill gas, and biofuels for their dangers to disenfranchised communities.
- Urge the legislature to improve the clean energy standard and amend SB 0271 / HB 4759 to be 100% wind, solar, small-scale hydropower, and geothermal by 2035 and at least 80% renewable by 2030.
Rebates for Battery Storage
- Create financial incentives for customers who invest in rooftop solar and home batteries. That incentive is doubled for energy-burdened customers with lower incomes.
- Support HB 4839 and HB 4840, establishing rebates for solar and battery storage systems prioritizing low- and middle-income households and require utilities to aggregate these systems into the grid.
Facilitate Community Solar
- Require the utility companies to allow community solar projects that will provide solar savings for customers unable to switch to rooftop solar.
- Support SB 0152, SB 0153, and HB 4464, which would facilitate the creation of community solar projects and ensure that benefits are channeled to low-income residents.
Eliminate the Cap
- Eliminate the 1% cap on solar; restore fair compensation for solar customers.
- Support SB 0362 and SB 0363, removing Michigan's cap on distributed solar generation and implementing net metering.
If you would like to take a closer look at each piece of proposed legislation, follow the links below:
- HB 4839 and HB 4840, which would establish rebates for solar and battery storage systems that prioritize low- and middle-income households and require utilities to aggregate these systems into the grid
- SB 0152, SB 0153, and HB 4464, which would facilitate the creation of community solar projects and ensure that benefits are channeled to low-income residents
- SB 0362 and SB 0363, which would remove Michigan’s cap on distributed solar generation and implement net metering
Climate Justice Agenda
Yes, even more must be done to ensure energy justice and confront false solutions. We must work towards a future where all communities have access to affordable, renewable, and reliable energy and where the current, future, and historic impacts of pollution and climate change are addressed. In solidarity with the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, we urge the legislature to prioritize and introduce additional legislation in support of the following policies as part of a Climate Justice agenda:
- Fair Outage Compensation
- Electricity Affordability
- Campaign Finance Reform
- Cumulative Impact Analysis: Special thanks to US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12-D) for considering cumulative impacts, which are also being weighed at the federal level.
Want to do more? Visit our State Campaigns page for further related actions you can take. In particular, if you haven't yet, sign on to the baseline priorities of the Clean Energy Future Plan to recognize that you support this progress.