State funds worth approximately USD50 million have been approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) for the improvement and development of low-carbon energy infrastructure projects throughout Michigan. The MPSC stated in a recent news release that the funding will be used to support a variety of projects, such as grid-scale energy storage, community solar, electric vehicle infrastructure, renewable natural gas, and the expansion of natural gas to areas that are currently dependent on propane.

The grant is expected to begin on July 3, and all grants are subject to the State Administrative Board's review and approval. In September 2022, the MPSC issued its request for proposals. Proposals were due by January 2023, and the public was invited to provide feedback on all of them.

The task granted the biggest measure of subsidizing was the Lansing Leading body of Water and Light lattice scale battery energy capacity framework and ground-mounted nearby planet group project, which gathered USD12 million. In its grant application, the public utility stated that it would support the utility-scale development of four 43.1 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system modules and a four-megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic facility.

According to the grant application, the utility stated that the solar and battery projects are part of a larger plan to eventually retire the coal-fired, 154-MW Erickson power station and to construct a natural gas reciprocating internal combustion engine power plant that will eventually be able to crossfire using renewable hydrogen. The utility's goal is to provide access to additional low-carbon energy sources for its nearly 100,000 customers.

Additionally, grants were awarded to a few Consumers Energy natural gas renewable energy projects. At TDI Dairy Farms in Clinton County and Swisslane Dairy Farms in Kent County, Consumers Energy intends to acquire and install renewable natural gas upgrading equipment. USD5.39 million and USD5.63 million, respectively, were given to the projects.

The two Consumers Energy projects aim to install anaerobic digesters that use animal manure as feedstock to produce biogas that is processed and improved to meet natural gas quality standards.

Additionally, Midland Cogeneration Venture (MCV) received USD0.77 million for its feasibility study of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) feed at its Midland, Michigan facility. MCV will evaluate a plan to remove and store 250,000 to 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually in the initial phase, with the potential to scale up to two million tons annually, according to the grant application. According to the application, the undertaking may "play a significant role in decarbonizing Michigan's electricity sector in the near term, with the potential for the first ton of CO2 to be sequestered as early as 2029."

During a meeting of the commission, MPSC Commissioner Katherine Peretick stated, "The estimated impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions just from these grants is well over 500,000 tons of CO2 per year," adding that the projects' impact on the state was "impressive."