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Opinion | ‘Pure Michigan’ fall at risk because of administration’s energy policies
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Fall in Michigan is a magical time filled with football, foliage, and family orchard visits. But this year, the season comes with added anxiety as the Trump administration’s energy policies drive up costs and threaten our safety, health, and economic well-being. Michiganders are right to be upset and demand a change in course.
Electricity bills, groceries, gas, diesel, and other everyday costs have climbed, and families now feel the added pressure of a new school year. Back-to-school expenses are expected to approach $4,000 per child nationally this year, nearly 11% higher than last year. And here in Michigan, among voters with children buying school supplies, 22% said increased energy costs would have a major or significant impact on their ability to afford those supplies, while almost half said the impact would be at least minor.
Energy costs are a major part of the squeeze that many families are feeling, and the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are pushing those costs even higher. A recent Climate Power report found that more than 400 clean energy projects have been canceled or stalled nationally since President Trump took office, putting nearly 146,000 jobs at risk and taking potential new electricity supply off the grid as demand grows. Michigan has already felt the consequences: thousands of clean energy jobs and more than $1 billion in investment have been lost or delayed, while utility rates have climbed.
We have also seen the administration repeatedly force the Campbell coal plant to remain open beyond its planned retirement, keeping an older, more expensive energy source operating instead of accelerating investments in cleaner, more affordable power. A recent court decision challenging the administration’s effort to keep the plant operating is an important victory, but we must remain vigilant in demanding a better path.
Yet this administration has repeatedly advanced policies that favor data center developers over local communities. Their 2025 budget bill included tax breaks for data center developers, while an earlier version could have sharply limited state and local authority over AI regulation and data centers. They also passed the SPEED Act, which would accelerate permitting for major infrastructure projects by narrowing federal environmental review.
Michiganders strongly oppose this approach: a new survey found 73% of Michigan voters opposed these federal tax breaks and other policies intended to encourage and speed up data center development.
We need thoughtful growth, real safeguards, and enough new energy supply to meet demand – not policies that hand Big Tech a blank check while asking Michigan families to pick up the tab.
The good news is that Michigan already has a blueprint for a better approach. The Michigan Climate Jobs coalition has brought labor to the center of the clean energy transition, with a blueprint focused on affordable energy, good-paying union careers, and investments that benefit working families.
Ann Arbor Public Schools in my district has become Michigan’s largest school-district producer of solar energy while also investing in geothermal and more efficient buildings. Nationwide, school solar capacity has more than quadrupled over the past decade. Those investments lower energy costs, leaving more resources for classrooms, teachers, and students.
That is the choice for all of us. We can keep doubling down on expensive, outdated energy, or we can build the reliable, affordable clean energy Michigan needs that will create good-paying jobs for the next generation of Michigan families. I believe in Michiganders to do what it takes to pull us out of this crisis.
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