Opinion | The case to save the UP

There are lots of misconceptions out there about Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. To many people, the UP is just a giant state park with little towns here and there to accommodate tourists. We certainly have beautiful land that we love to share with visitors, but we have so much more to offer.  

In the UP, industries like mining and logging are still a part of our way of life. Outside of the hospital systems, our largest employer is Cleveland-Cliffs, which operates the Tilden Mine. Mining, agriculture, forestry, and manufacturing are still alive and well in the Upper Peninsula — and they require a lot of power to operate. 

Our industries are energy-intensive, meaning access to affordable and reliable energy is critical. The Tilden Mine alone represents around 60% of energy demand in the UP, and production of that energy is at risk. 

Around 10 years ago, the UP was scheduled to decommission our last two coal power plants. These plants represented most of our electric generation capacity. Initially, there was no plan to replace these plants with anything other than importing more energy from Wisconsin.

Energy experts were concerned about the plan; by not replacing the coal plants with new energy generation, the UP would burden the broader electric grid.

We were facing System Support Resource (SSR) payments — basically an insurance policy for energy providers. When one area of the grid becomes less reliable, others have to pick up the slack.

We were the slack.

Not only would we be buying energy from other places, but we’d also be paying tens of millions of dollars to strengthen the electric grid both within and outside of the UP instead of building our own affordable and reliable generation here. That wasn’t going to work. We needed to build our own energy generation systems in the UP

As a result, an agreement was reached to build 13 reciprocating internal combustion engine (RICE) units. These RICE units, which came online in 2019, are powered by natural gas. They’re mobile, built quickly, and can be ramped up and down to match energy demand.  

The UP’s electric generation is entirely based on these RICE units and the hydroelectric power plants scattered across the peninsula. The RICE units are only a few years old, and a recent study conducted by the Michigan Public Service Commission found that the Upper Peninsula’s carbon dioxide emissions decreased by over 70% because of the RICE units. We’re leading in clean energy production.

We do not have a single coal power plant anymore. The Lower Peninsula has 33 coal-fired power plants. Despite that, recent energy laws, which mandated 100% clean energy by 2040, didn’t take the UP’s brand new generation and unique situation into consideration. 

Under the new rules, the RICE units that reduced our emissions by over 70% will need to be deactivated decades early, but their massive debt will remain. Residents and industry will have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on green energy infrastructure while continuing to pay for the RICE units. 

Something has to change.

We have a plan to solve the problem and keep our RICE generators online. The plan would simply allow us to keep the RICE units online through 2049, the extent of their lifecycles.

Turning these units off early will close the Tilden Mine and force thousands of people out of work. Soon after, residents and businesses won’t be able to afford their electric bills. One estimate predicts that energy bills will increase by more than $86 a month for residential homes, and businesses could see their bills increase by at least $3,500 a month. 

As a lawmaker from the UP, I know we can’t win this fight on our own. Everyone who holds the UP in their heart should be worried. These rising prices won’t just affect the Tilden Mine. They’ll also affect your favorite coffee roaster, restaurant, and brewery. They’ll affect mothers, fathers, and children. They will drive people away.

We want to continue to welcome you to our parks and businesses. We want you to visit and appreciate our unique way of life. But that can only happen if we still live here. 

This is the fight of our lives, and we need your help. Please consider reaching out to your state representative and your state senator and asking them to support House Bills 4007 and 4283.