LANSING – A controversial proposal to require that 25 percent of Michigan’s electricity be generated by renewable resources by 2025 could help create nearly 74,500 jobs in the state, a study released by supporters of the proposal said.
Most of the jobs created would be for maintenance and operations of the various generating facilities, whether by wind, solar, biogas or landfill, the report said, though a significant number would be in construction for the different facilities.
Critics of the proposal called the report “nothing more than wishful thinking wearing academic clothing.”
“Our members have heard these jobs claims before and we know better than anyone that they just don’t pan out as promised,” Pat Dillon, president of the Michigan State Utility Workers Council, said in a statement. “We have also seen studies from Spain showing that these projects lose more jobs than they create.”
Dillon’s latter reference is to a study that found such renewable energy policies to be economically counterproductive.
Friday’s study presented by supporters of the ballot proposal was conducted by three professors at Michigan State University in the College of Agriculture, Food and Resource Economics and the Land Policy Institute. The faculty members had done similar research on the potential for alternative energy generation, especially offshore wind, in the past.
The study found the higher renewable electricity standard would create more than $10 billion in new investments, though some have expressed concern over how that would reflect in consumer prices.
“All generation costs money, so it depends on where you put your dollar for the job impacts are,” Charles McKeown, a researcher from the agriculture college said on the matter. “The need for additional generation isn’t going to go away. It depends on whether we do it one way or we do it the other.”
McKeown said commercial wind resources would create the most overall jobs, but again skeptics of the proposal hammered on this point.
“The statement that Michigan has an abundance of wind, hydro, biomass and sun is grossly misstated,” Steve Transeth, former member of the Public Service Commission, said in a statement by opposition group Clean Affordable Renewable Energy. “By amending the constitution, we are actually handcuffing Michigan to a restrictive definition of renewables which impedes our ability to take advantage of new technologies in the future.”
Addressing the potential lack of flexibility by way of constitutional amendment, Hugh McDiarmid, spokesperson for the Michigan Environmental Council, said putting the initiative in the Constitution ensures power companies will be held to the standard.
“One of the reasons that we want it in the Constitution is so the Legislature can’t go back and trash it, essentially. Yes, it will be in the Constitution, but the details on how to implement it are still up to the Legislature,” McDiarmid said. “If this passes, the Legislature still has a lot of work to do in terms of creating the way we’re going to meet these goals. So the Legislature still will have a role in implementing this but if it’s constitutionally protected, they can’t go back and amend it or reverse it or whatnot.”
The paper referred to the proposal – which critics have charged would cost the state more in generating electricity and lead to job losses – as creating job years. But when asked, McKeown said a job year was essentially a full-time job. In terms of construction, the report estimated the proposal would create 31,513 jobs, the paper said.
In terms of maintenance and operations, the paper estimates the proposal would create 42,982 jobs. Those jobs would include workers directly working on the energy facilities as well as new jobs created by the salaries and wages of energy workers.
McKeown also doubted that many jobs in current generating plants would be lost if the proposal passes. Most of those plants would continue to be needed to help deal with growth in demand, he said, and he expected some new plants built using natural gas for production.
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