The RPS passing is a joke, but the net metering bill attached is
great news and a big advancement for homeowners who want to
interconnect a renewable source of energy to the grid. Tammy

New requirements for electric utilities to produce more power from
renewable sources won't add more wind or solar power overnight, but
the legislation is a step toward a more renewable energy future and
should help homeowners with wind turbines or solar panels.

The requirement that companies bring in 10% of their power from
renewable sources by 2015 won't really add much to the state's
electric grid for several years.
The state's two big utilities, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy, get
about 5% of their energy from renewable sources. Each has 14,000
customers who pay a premium each month to get some or all of their
electricity from renewable sources.

"Wind is very hot," Anthony Earley Jr., DTE chairman and chief
executive officer, said Thursday.

The firm has 30,000 acres in the Thumb under lease for wind farms and
is already the nation's second-largest producer of methane gas from
landfills, which is used for electricity. "We need to find ways to
expand that," he said.

The company hopes to generate power from windmills in two to four
years.

Consumers Energy gets its renewable energy from hydroelectric dams,
burning of waste wood, wind and landfill gas, said spokesman Jeff
Holyfield. By 2015, it will get more power from wind farms.

Environmental groups and independent renewable energy producers were
disappointed that Michigan's new standard is low compared with those
in many other states, at 10%. Wind firms are less likely to locate
here because they would be forced to sell power to the big utilities
at whatever price the utilities set, rather than competing on the
open market, said David Waymire, spokesman for the Customer Choice
coalition.

"It's a farce," he said.

But the law has new benefits for individual homeowners and businesses
who put up wind turbines or solar panels, said Jennifer Alvarado,
director of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association.

The utilities will have to buy a small amount of power from them, she
said. If an individual with a wind turbine creates more electricity
than needed, the utility would have to issue the consumer a credit at
the same rate it charges the homeowner for electricity. In the past,
the utility could buy that power for much less. It's a strong
incentive for individuals to come up with their own green power,
Alvarado said.

"We'll definitely see growth," she said. "For that, it's a very good
day for us."