Whitmer Undoes Her Own Environmental Legacy By Backing (You Guessed It!) Tax Incentives For Data Centers [View all]

In late 2023, an unlikely state in the country’s industrial heartland passed nation-leading climate laws—Michigan. The “bold” and “ambitious” plan drew praise for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a potential Democratic 2028 presidential candidate. But the laws, which require Michigan to generate all of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2040, are likely going to be derailed.

Soon after they were signed, Whitmer backed tax incentive bills for energy-hungry data centers. An “off ramp” provision in the climate laws allows fossil fuel plants to stay online or be built past 2040 if clean energy can’t meet demand. The data centers are already poised to trigger the off ramp and utilities are planning new gas plants.

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Though many Democrats pushed for requirements for data centers to generate their own renewable energy and save the climate law, Whitmer publicly did nothing to preserve her signature environmental measure. The apparent lack of interest “shows where the priorities are,” said Christy McGillivray, previously a lobbyist with Sierra Club Michigan, which fought to save the climate laws. Wegela echoed that: “Not saying anything is also saying something in another way.”

The likely death of Whitmer’s climate bills is emblematic of the broader frustration and tension in how Whitmer approached environmental issues. Her 2018 win generated optimism in the wake of the environmentally disastrous era under former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder that culminated in the Flint water crisis. But when conflicts between the interests of polluters who served Whitmer’s economic agenda and public health arose, the governor virtually always sided with industry, which often included large campaign donors, sources said. Nearly 25 legislators, environmental activists, attorneys and residents spoke with Inside Climate News for this story.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22122025/michigan-gov-gretchen-whitmer-environmental-record/