Wind Policy
1. Tell Michigan's congress to support a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) are state policies mandating a state to generate a percent of its electricity from renewable sources. Each state has a choice of how to fulfill this mandate using a combination of renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, or other renewable sources. Some RPSs will specify the technology mix, while others leave it up to the market.
Choices are critical because states don't have the same renewable resources. For example, Arizona has greater solar resources than Oregon, and North Dakota has greater wind resources than Georgia. To contact your state rep. Click Here To contact your state senator Click Here
2. Buy "green power" through your utility company. DTE Energy and Consumers Energy both provide green power programs. These programs are an effective form of consumer activism, where you can make sure that the power that you use in your home comes from local renewable energy (at this point all of it comes from within the state of Michigan).
For every person who joins, DTE or Consumers Energy must support local renewable energy suppliers. Joining the program adds a small premium to your utility bill, but is less expensive than the initial upfront cost of installing your own system.
For more information, see the websites for Consumer Energy or DTE Energy Note that these programs essentially buy Renewable Energy Credits or RECs, that must come from within Michigan. You can certainly buy RECs from other sources to support renewable energy. However most do not have a commitment to purchasing RECs from Michigan-based renewables.
