“In the 10 years before recent renewable energy laws went into effect, the U.P. was already leading in clean energy by decommissioning coal power plants ahead of the rest of the state. We lowered our CO2 emissions by more than 70% because we built the RICE units,” Prestin said during committee testimony. “There is nothing worse for the environment than energy poverty. If the U.P. is forced to close our RICE generators early, that’s exactly where we’re headed. It will force our largest employers, who depend on affordable and reliable electricity, to leave the U.P. entirely. We’ll lose thousands of good paying jobs, and we’ll lose thousands of residents over the border to Wisconsin.”
