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Michigan council highlights Climate Pollution Reduction grant, urges support for Solar for All legal challenge
Summary
At the Council on Climate Solutions meeting, state climate officials reported progress on the Climate Pollution Reduction planning and implementation grants, described the Renewables Ready communities goals and praised an attorney general-led challenge seeking to reinstate the Solar for All grant after a federal rescission.
Michigan climate officials used the Council on Climate Solutions meeting to outline recent federal and state funding that they say will accelerate renewable development and implementation of the My Healthy Climate Plan.
Director Roos told the council the state secured legislative authority this fall to begin working on the Climate Pollution Reduction grant that EGLE won in July 2024 and described the program as central to meeting the state’s 2030 emissions targets. "This grant has the goal of incentivizing over 16,000 megawatts of solar and wind and 750 ish megawatts of storage," Roos said, describing the scale needed to reach the plan’s interim goals.
Roos also said the attorney general, joined by 22 other state officials, has filed lawsuits seeking reinstatement of a Solar for All grant after a federal rescission. "We're gonna give her everything she needs to try to win this back," Roos said, noting the program had been expected to serve about 900,000 to 1,000,000 Michigan households.
Deputy Chief Climate Officer Julia Field updated the council on the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan developed with EPA planning grant support. Field said the plan produced the state’s first statewide greenhouse-gas inventory since 2005, included in-person and virtual engagement across the state, and will be submitted to EPA by December 1. Field noted the plan’s modeling shows significant emission reductions under full implementation and that EGLE expects to publish a standalone inventory report in early 2026.
Kaylee Neuwenfell, OCE’s climate finance officer, summarized competitive program pilots tied to the My Healthy Climate Challenge. She said Challenge 1 (solar-related pilot) is paused pending litigation, Challenge 2 (unlocking elective pay) received 22 concept papers and 10 full applications for $2,000,000 in awards, and Challenge 4 (industrial decarbonization, "Go Big, Go Clean") will focus on feasibility and planning with $2,000,000 allocated for non-capital activities.
Office staff emphasized implementation tasks ahead: publishing the inventory, publishing the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan to meet federal deadlines, recruiting contractors to deliver home-energy rebates, and coordinating across agencies to align large new electricity loads with clean-energy goals. "We see our role in ensuring these conversations happen so communities can derive benefit from new development," Alessandra Carrion of the Office of Climate and Energy said.
The council did not take a formal vote on these programs at the meeting; staff outlined next steps and scheduled continued implementation work through 2026.
