As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to retake the White House, Michigan environmental advocates say they’re hopeful that the state’s clean energy policies will remain largely intact.
Laws passed last year by the Democrat-controlled Legislature require the adoption of 100% clean energy production by 2040, allow a state board to approve wind and solar projects over local opposition and enable the state to capture additional federal funding.
“We’re not going to change the legislation at the state level, but funding could change those decisions,” said Jason Hayes, director of energy and environmental policy for the Mackinac Center.
According to federal data, Michigan was set to receive about $2.5 billion for public clean energy and climate investments under the Inflation Reduction Act.
And according to a September 2023 Atlas Public Policy analysis, about half of that — $1.2 billion — has already been awarded to Michigan projects, the highest of any state other than California.
Trump has said he would work to take back unspent funding from the IRA and roll back associated federal tax credits — but it remains uncertain what policies will come to fruition.
“How the federal government of 2025 and beyond will respond to these sorts of renewable energy goals we have for ourselves, and clean energy goals we have for ourselves, is still a bit unclear — but there are some concerns that the funding is going to be the biggest hit that we’ll see here in the state,” said Beau Brocket, communications manager for the Michigan Environmental Council.
Analysts from left- and right-leaning organizations both say they don’t anticipate a change in direct federal support for Great Lakes protection.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative was established in 2010 and receives around $300 million a year for water quality management, habitat restoration and invasive species removal.
“There’s just too much political capital that would need to be expanded to make that happen,” Hayes said. “And it’s not something I see as being terribly popular with anybody.”
Still, Trump proposed cutting the initiative’s funding by 90% in 2019, before receiving bipartisan backlash and reversing course.
Trump could also roll back federal water protections as he did in his first term. According to a New York Times analysis, Trump’s administration reversed eight federal policies regarding water pollution.
Due to restrictions on rule-making authority for the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, Michigan would be limited in its ability to respond to similar rollbacks without legislative action.
“We’re left without the tools to do that, because our state agency that’s actually given the charge of protecting state waters can’t issue the rules they need to in order to do do that job effectively,” said Megan Tinsley, water policy director for the Michigan Environmental Council.
