Smith: Leading in clean energy will grow state's economy

This column appeared in Wednesday's The Detroit News.

Michigan is leading the race for clean energy jobs and investment. Clean energy legislation championed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative partners like Sen. Sam Singh puts the state on track to be the first state in the country to produce all its energy from renewable sources.

Leading the world in making an equitable transition to clean energy creates an unprecedented opportunity to attract and create the jobs of the future right here in Michigan. The products, expertise and know-how that will be needed to adopt clean energy technology can be developed here first and then exported around the globe. Many Michiganians have already heard about the shift from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) and understand that many of our state’s auto suppliers are going to need to identify new products to build and new markets to tap into in the years ahead. This transition is just one aspect of a larger effort to reduce carbon emissions in the hopes of slowing rising temperatures.

While politicians in the U.S. may still be debating climate change, dozens of countries and thousands of corporations are already taking steps to go carbon-neutral and are poised to make massive investments in energy technologies. According to McKinsey & Company, spending on energy equipment will increase by $3.5 trillion per year for the next 30 years in order for countries and corporations to meet the carbon neutrality goals they already established. In the short term, there will be increased demand for a wide range of energy products such as solar panels, wind turbines, advanced energy storage systems and heat pumps. The majority of these products are manufactured in China. Thanks to federal laws like the Inflation Reduction Act, we can pair federal grants and loans with state funds to create jobs making these products in Michigan while helping our manufacturers diversify into a new and growing global market. Achieving energy independence and addressing climate change will require more than just the deployment of existing equipment. It will require research and development into innovative new technologies, and the knowledge and expertise needed to deploy those technologies effectively. Energy independence will also require new technologies to be integrated into existing infrastructure, and that a skilled workforce is trained to install and maintain them. This kind of expertise is likely to represent the most valuable part of the new renewable energy economy being created. Being a renewable energy leader will create economic growth in our state, but we know that in the past the benefits of growth haven’t always been distributed equitably. During the 20th century, diverse communities from all over the country and around the world came to Michigan because it was the best place to get a job that could lift a family out of poverty. Today, too many once-prosperous communities in our state are suffering from a lack of good jobs and investment.

The Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity will soon be home to the newly created Community and Worker Transition Office. This office will be singularly focused on ensuring that the workers, companies and communities who have suffered the most from economic change over the last 40 years have the tools and support they need to take part in this new future.

Embracing Michigan’s role as a clean energy leader can create an opportunity that can support our economy in the same way the auto industry has over the last century. To take advantage of this opportunity, Michigan must leverage its existing strengths which include world-class research universities, a massive concentration of engineering and technical talent, more manufacturers than any other state in the country, a highly skilled workforce and the swagger and grit that comes from our legacy of being the place that builds things.

Michigan has led the world in equitable economic growth in the past, together we can make history repeat itself and show the world that everyone can make it here. 

Jonathan Smith is senior chief deputy director at the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity.