On the Road to 100 Percent Renewables for Michigan

The document argues that Michigan can meet all electricity needs with wind, solar, and batteries by 2035, leading to significant public health savings, job growth, and emissions reductions, provided the transition is managed equitably.

• Michigan can achieve a 100 percent renewable electricity future by 2035 through the aggressive deployment of wind, solar, and battery energy storage, even while accounting for high levels of electrification in buildings and transportation.
• A transition to renewable energy is projected to save Michigan approximately $14.9 billion in public health costs between 2022 and 2040 by reducing pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The most significant benefits are expected in Wayne County.
• The '100% RES' scenario is estimated to generate substantial economic growth by 2040, including over 100,000 additional jobs (more than 400,000 job-years), a $10 billion increase in cumulative labor income, and $20.6 billion in additional state GDP growth.
• Implementing a 'Restricted Fossil Fuel' scenario—which involves retiring all coal plants by 2030 and limiting new gas-fired plants—would result in a 96 percent reduction in heat-trapping emissions between 2020 and 2040.
• Average residential energy burdens are projected to drop from 4.9 percent in 2020 to 3.8 percent by 2040 under both the '100% RES' and 'No New Policy' scenarios, though the '100% RES' path offers additional savings via electric vehicles and heat pumps.
• To ensure a just transition, the document recommends prioritizing pollution reduction in overburdened communities, providing job training for fossil fuel workers, and eliminating utility caps on distributed generation resources like rooftop solar.

APA

Gignac, J., Vial, B. S., Sitko, E., Rogers, J., García, P., & Sattler, S. (2022). On the Road to 100 Percent Renewables for Michigan. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/on-the-road-100-renewable-mi-fact-sheet.pdf

Chicago

Gignac, James, Bridget Saunders Vial, Edyta Sitko, John Rogers, Paula García, and Sandra Sattler. On the Road to 100 Percent Renewables for Michigan. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2022. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/on-the-road-100-renewable-mi-fact-sheet.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{gignac2022road, author = {Gignac, James and Vial, Bridget Saunders and Sitko, Edyta and Rogers, John and García, Paula and Sattler, Sandra}, title = {{On the Road to 100 Percent Renewables for Michigan}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2022}, month = apr, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/on-the-road-100-renewable-mi-fact-sheet.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }