11/25/2025
Fairbairn Urges Michigan Senate to Pass House Plan to Safeguard U.P. Energy Production
State Rep. Parker Fairbairn issued a statement urging the Michigan Senate to move quickly to approve legislation that would protect and maintain reliable and affordable energy production in the Upper Peninsula. The plan would ensure the continued operation of the U.P.’s 13 Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE) generators. Without imminent legislative intervention, the generators will soon be shut down due to new green energy mandates, leading to massive energy bill hikes for residents and businesses alike.
House Bill 4007 (Bohnak) and House Bill 4238 (Prestin) would amend the Clean and Renewable Energy and Energy Waste Reduction Act to provide that, until the end of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) planning year ending in 2050, a reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) placed in service before the bill’s effective date to facilitate the retirement of coal-fired generation in the Upper Peninsula is a clean energy system for purposes of the act, and the electricity they generate could to be used to comply with the renewable energy credit standard and the clean energy standard under the act.
“The Senate must do the right thing and pass the U.P. energy protection plan before it’s too late. Without these RICE generators, the U.P. faces a collapse in every facet of daily life. Energy bills will skyrocket, leading businesses to close. When people lose jobs, they will most certainly leave. That mass exodus will leave schools and broader communities as shells of their former selves. Without reliable energy production, the U.P. will become a ghost peninsula.
“The Michigan Public Service Commission has even cited the effectiveness of the RICE units working in conjunction with a renewable energy portfolio due to the short time it takes the plants to ramp up and generate energy, helping to quickly make up for any energy shortfall. These RICE units are essential to U.P. energy production, and they must be allowed to stay online until the end of their lifecycle in 2049.”
