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Mackinac Center presentation warns net-zero policies could raise costs and create reliability risks, offers lower-cost nuclear-heavy alternative
Summary
Jason Hayes of the Mackinac Center presented modeling that compared a wind/solar/battery pathway with a lower-cost decarbonization scenario relying on carbon capture and nuclear; he warned the wind/solar scenario produced capacity shortfalls in modeling and higher costs per customer.
Jason Hayes of the Mackinac Center presented committee members a preview of a modeling study that examined Michigan paths to economy‑wide net‑zero and state statutory requirements in Public Act 235 of 2023.
Hayes summarized two modeled scenarios: a wind/solar/battery (WSB) pathway that retired all CO2‑emitting generation and replaced much capacity with wind, solar and batteries, and a lower‑cost decarbonization (LCD) pathway that relies on extending existing plants with carbon capture and adding nuclear capacity (including small modular reactors) while using limited storage.
Hayes said the WSB scenario’s modeled cost…
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