House passes bills allowing Upper Peninsula gas generators to operate until 2050

LANSING — The Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday passed bills that amend the Clean and Renewable Energy and Energy Waste Reduction Act to allow 13 reciprocating internal combustion engine, or RICE, natural-gas generators in the Upper Peninsula to continue operating through their projected life cycle in 2050.

Supporters said the change protects a large industrial customer and thousands of jobs and maintains local power reliability while opponents said it weakens the state’s clean-energy transition and risks higher long-term costs for Upper Peninsula ratepayers.

Representative Bonak, sponsor of House Bill 4007, told the chamber the RICE units in Marquette and Baraga counties were built in partnership with Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. and Wisconsin utilities to replace two coal plants and “reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 70%.” He said the 2023 Clean and Renewable Energy Act would otherwise require those units to cease operations about 10 years earlier than their equipment life, and that allowing them to run through 2050 prevents deindustrialization and job losses in the region. Representative Preston and Representative Andrews also spoke in support, saying the bills preserve energy…