The U.S. Bureau of Land Management yesterday repealed its decision to stall solar power on federal land for two years after receiving intense criticism.
Michigan's quietly budding solar energy industry could generate a thousand new jobs over the next five years, despite a recent federal decision to reassess the industry's impact on the environment, a state economic development expert said.
The solar energy industry is poised to benefit from a range of incentives approved by the state Legislature at the end of June, including the $18.75 million Choose Michigan Fund – a new initiative aimed primarily at offering loan-based incentives to firms that manufacture solar panels.
Jill Babcock, senior research specialist for Michigan Economic Development Corp.'s new markets division, said the solar industry is positioned to help grow the economy with these incentives.
Babcock said the state has identified about 350 companies that could delve delving into solar energy.
"It would be pretty easy for us in the next five years to obtain a thousand brand-new jobs in this sector alone," Babcock said.
Meanwhile, state energy experts sought to downplay the effect on Michigan's solar industry of a decision in late June by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to put a two-year hold on solar power projects using federal property.
The federal government stalled solar projects on government land until it can complete a comprehensive assessment of what kind of impact the projects would have on the environment, including wildlife and plants.
Gary Was, director of the University of Michigan's Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute, said the environmental assessment is necessary. He cited the nation's rush to invest in corn ethanol projects before considering the effect it could have on worldwide food prices as an example of a situation where important evaluations were not conducted.
"They're putting the brakes on this and saying, 'Look, we've got to slow down here.' This is totally reasonable," Was said. "You can't run over social issues. This is basically highlighting the issue that energy is more than just a technology. It's more than just a widget. It's figuring out how to make energy technology and society work together."
Was said the effect of the federal government's decision on Michigan likely will be minimal because most Michigan firms don't have direct connections to federal projects. He said it wouldn't directly affect the energy institute, which focuses mostly on long-term research.
The government's decision underscores the need to continue placing emphasis on environmentally friendly energy, Was said.
Perhaps the most paradoxical element to the federal government's decision is that solar energy is renewable.
"Certainly, alternative energy in its purest form is something that should be very environmentally friendly, but I think the practicality is, everything we do to generate energy is going to affect the environment," Was said.
Michigan's solar energy industry includes key players like Auburn Hills-based United Solar Ovonic and Hemlock-based Hemlock Semiconductor, as well as about 40 other firms, according to statistics from the Department of Labor and Economic Growth.
