Michigan considers bill to establish 2.5-gigawatt battery storage target

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Michigan's Legislature will consider a measure to require state-regulated utilities to procure a combined 2,500 MW of energy storage by Dec. 31, 2029.

House Bill 4256, introduced March 9, roughly aligns with an interim energy storage target of 2,500 MW outlined in an April 2022 state climate plan, part of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's aim to neutralize Michigan's carbon emissions economywide by midcentury. The plan calls for 2,500 MW of grid-scale energy storage by 2030 and 4,000 MW by 2040.

In addition to mandating energy storage procurements, the legislation requires the Michigan Public Service Commission to set targets for longer-duration storage providing more than 10 hours of discharge, as well as multiday storage. A study to determine long-duration and multiday storage procurement would be due within 180 days of the law taking effect.

A spokesperson for DTE Electric Co. declined to comment on the bill but pointed to the DTE Energy Co. subsidiary's latest 20-year integrated resource plan. That plan includes adding more than 1,800 MW of energy storage and 15,000 MW of renewable energy.

CMS Energy Corp. subsidiary Consumers Energy Co. is "still reviewing the specifics of this legislation and its implications for Michigan," the company said March 14 in an email. The utility, which targets 550 MW of energy storage by 2040, views energy storage as "an important part of Michigan's energy future," it said.

[Garrett Hering]

More: Mich. measure would mandate 2.5 GW of energy storage, study on long duration