Representative Greg Markkanen and Representative Angela Rigas introduced legislation to amend and add to the state’s 2008 Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act. The legislation would add a ninth part to the document, called the Maximizing American Grid Affordability Solar Act.
Representative Markkanen calls the plan a truly conservative alternative to radical energy mandates while placing landowners and Michigan communities first. The bill would require local zoning approval for all solar projects in the state. The legislation would also limit the solar energy produced and connected to the electric grid to 20 percent. Encouraging solar power generation at the home, rather than a traditional utility provider. Representative Rigas says to let local homeowners decide if they want solar in their backyards, not unelected Lansing bureaucrats.
The bill also bans clearcutting state forestland, and a minimum 10 percent saving requirement for ratepayers. A goal of the legislation would protect the Michigan electric grid by slowing the development of larger solar farms.
The bill will head to the House of Representative’s Energy Committee for further consideration. Member of the Upper Peninsula caucus, Representative Dave Prestin serves as the Majority Vice Chair on the House Energy Committee.
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Michigan lawmakers unveil MAGA Solar Act
Legislation puts American jobs, energy freedom, and local control first
LANSING, MI – State Reps. Greg Markkanen and Angela Rigas have introduced the Maximizing American Grid Affordability (MAGA) Solar Act, a bold new energy policy designed to strengthen Michigan’s energy independence, defend local land use rights, and protect ratepayers from costly green energy mandates.
The legislation, House Bills 4590, sets a conservative path for responsible solar development in Michigan – capping the total amount of solar allowed statewide, requiring local zoning approval for all projects, and prohibiting the use of solar panels manufactured in hostile nations like China, North Korea, and Iran.
Markkanen, R-Hancock, called the plan “a true conservative alternative to radical energy mandates.”
“The MAGA Solar Act puts Michigan families, workers, and landowners first – without government coercion or foreign dependency,” Markkanen said. “This is what responsible solar looks like.”
With key provisions like a minimum 10% savings requirement for ratepayers, a ban on clear-cutting state forestland, and a focus on rooftop and agrivoltaics deployment, the MAGA Solar Act reflects conservative stewardship and market discipline.
“The MAGA Solar Act puts Michigan families and local communities first, not state mandates and red tape,” said Rigas, R-Caledonia. “Let the local homeowners decide if they want solar in their backyards, not unelected Lansing bureaucrats.”
The legislation’s statewide cap on total solar deployment protects Michigan’s grid from instability and prevents a reckless overbuild of solar at the expense of ratepayers and reliability.
The plan was referred to the House Energy Committee for further consideration.
