September 2025

State Budget Labors Across Finish Line

Energy spending sparse after past largess

The state’s fiscal year began on October 1st, but it took until the wee hours (4 a.m.) of October 3rd to get the budget completed. The storyline on energy spending at the state level is "sparse." We shared last month about the major retraction in energy spending effectuated by the Trump Administration. There are no new energy initiatives in this state budget either; however, there are a couple bright spots.

The budget includes authorization to spend $129 million in federal Inflation Reduction Act funds that came to Michigan in 2024. The vast majority of it will go toward Renewable Ready Community Awards, one-time grants for communities that voluntarily host grid-scale wind, solar or battery projects. There is also increased funding for weatherization programs that help low-income residents improve the energy efficiency of their homes and reduce energy waste. This is a far better policy than providing direct energy bill payment assistance, which we do in the tens of millions each year.

Electric vehicles did not fair so well in the budget. As part of a major overhaul of the road funding system, fees on EVs will go up disproportionately compared to gas vehicles paying gas taxes. A bill to move the fees toward parity with gas vehicle taxes has already been introduced. It's future is uncertain, however. Past funding for building out EV charging infrastructure was not extended in this budget. The private sector will have to step up to continue expanding the charging network.

Mackinac Island Conference Success

MICEF and Michigan Land & Liberty Coalition® staff made the most of attending the biennial Michigan GOP Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island in September. In addition to the many local officials and grassroots party activists present at the conference, our team members interacted with GOP members of Congress, several state legislators, and candidates for the following elections: 2026 gubernatorial race, attorney general, secretary of state and U.S. Senate.

We handed out a lot of literature and MICEF branded protein “energy” bars, and had dozens of conversations on every imaginable energy topic. Came across some skeptics of renewable energy, EVs, etc., but our conservative-based, “All-of-the-Above” platform was very well received. The connections made during the conference resulted in numerous follow up calls, emails, and meetings that will produce long-term benefits.

Texas Pioneers Geothermal-Pressure Storage

World’s first commercial use of novel technology

Sage Geosystems, in cooperation with the rural San Miguel Electric Cooperative, launched the world’s first application of a geothermal pressure storage system. Frankly, Sage uses so many novel engineering and technology applications, we don’t have room to describe it here. It involves pumping water underground to take advantage of existing heat and supercritical carbon dioxide. 

Equally impressive is how quickly this first model was proposed, permitted and constructed – in just over 1 year! It’s small, a 3MW/4-6 hour system, and won’t be connected to the grid until December. With the attitude and culture Sage Geosystems brings, it could be “the little energy company that could.”

Gas Turbine Production to Increase

5+ year waiting lists to shorten

With increasing electricity demand being the constant “talk of the town” in the energy world, and four to seven-year waiting lists for gas turbine generators, all the major turbine manufacturers are ramping up their production capacity. MICEF spoke with a representative of GE Verona this summer who said they are shooting for 3-year deliveries. Read about Mitsubishi’s plan to double production, meanwhile Siemens is also stepping up production. 

The billion-dollar investments being made to increase turbine production is expected to raise power plant costs. However, with data centers being comparatively price insensitive, meeting their insatiable energy demand should bode well for these turbine manufacturers and their utility customers. 

Tale of Two Sodium-Ion Batteries

Peak Energy goes online, Natron goes bankrupt

The fortunes of energy technology development can certainly be fickle. Last year we reported about Natron’s first “commercial scale” battery production facility in Holland, Michigan, with plans to build a huge, 1,000-job production plant in North Carolina. Early in September, Natron announced that it was immediately ceasing operations and its largest financial investor would oversee its liquidation. A stunning and unfortunate reversal from year to year.

Meanwhile, Peak Energy is now operating the largest (though a comparatively small 3.5 MWh) sodium-ion battery facility tied to the grid. Peak claims their technology will have a 20% lower lifetime cost and 33% lower capacity loss over 20 years than lithium-ion batteries. The facility is still a beta test as Peak and partnering utilities will be carefully studying its performance metrics.