Power by the People: Renewable Energy Reduces the Highest Electric Rates in the Nation

Pictured here are solar panels installed on the campus of Michigan Tech University, where researchers have found renewable and distributed generation energy sources can save Michigan electric consumers money. (Photo © Sarah Bird and courtesy Kelley Christensen)

By Kelley Christensen, Michigan Tech science and technology publications writer

Posted March 14, 2019, on Michigan Tech News
Reprinted in part here with permission

Coal is the primary fuel source for Midwest electric utilities. Michigan Technological University researchers found that increasing renewable and distributed generation energy sources can save Michigan electric consumers money.

As renewable energy technologies and access to distributed generation like residential solar panels improve, consumer costs for electricity decrease. Making electricity for yourself with solar has become more affordable than traditional electricity fuel sources like coal.

However, as three Michigan Tech researchers contend in a new study, while utility fuel mixes are slowly shifting away from fossil fuels toward renewable sources, Michigan utilities, and U.S. utilities broadly, continue a relationship with fossil fuels that is detrimental to their customers. ... Click here to read the rest of this article and learn about the researchers on Michigan Tech News.