MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer addressed those gathered at the Mackinac Policy Conference Wednesday, announcing her plans to increase the state’s housing production goals and lower energy costs.
Whitmer touts the initiatives ways to ensure cost-effective living for every Michigander.
The housing goal jumped by 53%, now aiming to build 115,000 homes in the next 5 years. The new goal isa partnership between the state and regional housing initiatives to ‘eliminate unnecessary burdens and red tape on developers and local governments’.
The Housing Readiness Incentive Grant Program: $5Mfor local governments to adopt or eliminate rules and regulations in pursuit of building more houses, making housing more affordable.
The Missing Middle Housing Program: $110M in ARPA funding, supporting 50 projects and adding 1,492 new homes around the state.
MI Neighborhood: $60M annual response to goals and priorities spelled out in the Statewide Housing Plan.
Along with the housing goal increase, Whitmer announced $367M brought in to the state from the US Department of Energy’s Home Energy Rebates and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Solar for All programs, estimatineg the funds will lower bills for 28,000 households and help more than 18,000 low-income houses install solar panels.
“These investments will create a positive and lasting impact for Michiganders today and tomorrow ,” said Phil Roos, EGLE Director.
According to Whitmer’s office, $105.6M of the $210.8M received for the state’s Home Energy Rebate Programs has been earmarked for Home Efficiency Rebates. Another $105.2M will go to the Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates, offering people a chance to upgrade their homes and appliances to more efficient, cost-effective units.
The cost-reducing initiative leans heavily on the Michigan Solar for All program to move towards goals set forth in the MI Heathy Climate Plan and should impact families as early as summer of 2025.