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Midland, MI. -As the Great Lakes region moves toward ambitious net-zero energy goals, a new study from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy raises alarms about the potential risks to the region’s electricity reliability. Titled Shorting the Great Lakes Grid: How Net Zero Plans Risk Energy Reliability, the study explores how the push for renewable energy sources like wind and solar could lead to power shortages and blackouts across seven states in the region: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Net-Zero Transition: A Double-Edged Sword for the Grid?
Across the United States, policymakers are pushing for a transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In the Great Lakes region, 32 of the 38 major investor-owned utilities have committed to these targets. This means that many states are retiring coal and petroleum plants and increasing their reliance on wind and solar energy.…