Michigan

State Legislator Score: ****

Government representatives in Michigan have really embraced solar power. In fact, the state has proposed a plan this past September to the state senate which provides its residents and businesses the best solar incentives per kWh in all of North America! This bill is different from all previous energy bills. Why? It facilitates a profit for solar installers who sell their energy back to the electric grid. This is counter to standard net metering plans that merely credit homeowner electric bills when extra electricity flows back into the grid. Let’s take a closer look at the proposed legislation.

State Legislation
The aforementioned bill is called the Michigan Renewable Energy Sources Act (HB) 5218. If passed, this would be the first bill that allows Michigan citizens to profit from their commitment to clean energy. The bill also provides the first wind tariff, providing a needed incentive to utilize Michigan’s naturally windy climate to more fully harness clean energy.

Sample 3kW System – Home Installation Cost
System: 3kW
Michigan Solar Power Rating: Good
System Cost: $27,000
Rebates: Tax exemption & 30% tax credit up to $2,000 for solar electric and solar water heating
Pay-Off Rate: Varies based on usage. Could pay for itself in 9-10 years with new law

Consider you want to cut your electric bill in half and purchase a 3kW solar system for your Michigan home. The only incentive you’re gonna get from the state of Michigan is a tax exemption on the install. However, you can still take advantage of the Federal tax credit. The real value from the state of Michigan is going to come from that new energy bill. When that passes, you can sell the energy you do not use to the power company for .65/Kwh. This is unlike any other system in place to this date in North America and makes it more likely you’ll achieve much faster payback! Moreover, a system like this will save 71 tons of Greenhouse Gas over 25 years! That’s roughly similar to avoiding 90,000 automobile miles!

Consensus
With Governor Jennifer Granholm spear-heading the effort to spur solar energy use in Michigan, the skies look sunny for local residents considering going solar. However, until that legislation passes, installing solar in the state is quite costly. A bill like the one proposed worked quite well in Germany. Their feed-in tariff created 170,000 jobs and resulted in the most solar installed per capita in the world. These results are encouraging, given that skies are sunnier in Michigan than Germany. Therefore, we think it will have a similar effect on the local economy when implemented in Michigan. Expect explosive things to happen to the Michigan solar industry if this bill passes the Michigan House.

http://www.solarpowerrocks.com/michigan/