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Clean Energy Future

The shift to clean energy in Michigan is well underway - our biggest challenge in 2011 is to make sure that politicians in Washington, in Lansing and in our hometowns don't block our clean energy future. Michigan became a national leaders in clean energy investments in recent years. More than 100,000 jobs have been created and $10 billion invested in solar component manufacturing, advanced batteries, wind turbine construction, energy efficiency and more.

But Governor Snyder and Michigan Congressional and Legislative leaders seem determined to turn back the clock - threatening not only new and expanding good clean energy jobs and our competitiveness as a state, but promoting dirty energy like coal and nuclear power that threaten our children, the Great Lakes, and Michigan's future. 

Michigan needs a clean energy future that starts with increasing our energy efficiency so we can do more with less dollars. We need to build more clean energy components here, and deploy them here to produce our own renewable energy here instead of sending train car loads of dollars out of state to buy dirty coal and oil.  Michigan has some of the best wind power opportunities in the country, and a huge potential for solar power as well.  Our children need Michigan to get Beyond Coal now, from transitioning away from MSU's coal plant, the largest on-campus coal plant in the country, to dumping the expensive and dangerous plans for new coal plants in our state.  And it is well past time for Michigan to "say no" to a new nuclear power plant.

Michigan has a good head start in making the transition to a clean energy economy that will eliminate toxic mercury and global warming gases and protect our health, while making our energy of the future affordable and keeping good jobs in Michigan. There are many ways for you to get involved, from adopting clean energy yourself to joining our lobby days at the state capitol!

Please join us in the effort to build a clean energy future for Michigan.

Campaigns

Holland Beyond Coal
Holland Board of Public Works is pursuing expansion of the municipal utility's coal fired power plant. Sierra Club members in Holland are working to advance clean energy alternatives that will protect the health and well-being of the residents for generations to come. Learn more about our work here.

Biofuels and Biomass in Michigan
Sierra Club calls on state and federal agencies to stop funding the Frontier Renewable Resources project. Michigan is fortunate to have abundant forests and farmland. As such, our state is of keen interest to developers of biomass and biofuel projects. While our country needs to move forward with research and development of appropriate biofuel-based energy sources, it must be done with care and a guarantee of sustainability. Currently, however, Michigan is rushing forward to use tax dollars to subsidize projects that are both economically and environmentally unsustainable.

MI Beyond Coal Campaign
Learn about our work to move Michigan's economy beyond dirty coal.

Stop the Michigan Coal Rush
Starting in 2007, Michiganders saw one of the most aggressive efforts to build new coal plants of any state in the nation. Through the extraordinary hard work of a wide coalition of energy, faith, tribal, health and environmental organizations, in August of 2010 every one of the eight proposed coal plants was canceled, was put on indefinite hold, or had been denied a needed air pollution permit by the state of Michigan. Several proposals are back on the drawing board. Find out how you can help Michigan reject old dirty coal, and to secure an efficiency-first renewable clean energy future!

Clean Energy
In October Michigan took its first, long overdue step toward a green energy future and fighting climate change. Governor Granholm signed into law Public Acts 286 & 295 establishing requirements for energy efficiency and renewable electric generation of all electric providers in Michigan. While this was a good start, Michigan has much more to do to assure that we are creating both a clean energy future and the economic benefits this can bring. Find out more and how you can get involved in Energy 2!

Global Warming
Global Warming is already affecting Michigan in many ways, and the threat is growing. But our state is far behind many of other states when it comes to controling our contributions of greenhouse gases that threaten our children's future. Even though slow progress is being made, our Michigan leaders must be convinced to move faster and smarter to prevent worse damage to the planet. Learn what you can do and join our campaign!

Cool Cities Initiative
The Cool Cites campaign is a grassroots campaign designed to help citizens encourage their mayors to sign on to the U.S. Mayors climate protection agreement.

Clean, Renewable Energy
Michigan is currently at a crossroads to secure our economic and energy future. Bold, immediate leadership is required to bring new industries to Michigan—including clean, alternative energy sources like advanced batteries, wind and solar power—before other states position themselves as leaders and draw investment in these emerging industries. By acting now, we can make Michigan a leader and make clean energy the profitable kind of energy.