Michigan is the sunshine state! Huh? This summer has been so nice that you might just think Michigan could steal Florida’s state name. Of course our memories of winter’s gray skies fade with summer sunshine. Amidst this beautiful weather, our sun sits centered in one of the electric industry’s hottest debates — solar power.

Solar power tantalizes futurists because the sun provides a theoretically infinite energy source for our planet. We have the technology to convert solar energy to electricity. So why don’t we use more solar?

Solar electricity is intermittent. Coal, nuclear and natural gas plants can run continuously. If you divide actual output by what a plant could achieve operating at maximum power, (called capacity factor), traditional technologies can achieve nearly 90 percent. Modern wind projects can approach 40 percent. Solar only gives us 15 percent.

Solar electricity is expensive. Solar power costs 2-3 times more than power generated by gas and wind. Solar backers know this, so instead they claim, “solar costs have dropped in half in the past 10 years.” Really? Solar used to be impossibly expensive, now it’s just really expensive!

Solar power will be a growing part of our future! Despite the criticisms I just leveled, solar isn’t going away. Billions of dollars of investment continue to pour into technology and regulatory policy lobbying. The technology will take care of itself, but the regulatory policy issues concern me. Wolverine and its members are trying to figure out how to make it work without huge cross subsidies and silly rate constructs. This is why we expect to begin construction of our first solar array this fall. We want to learn everything we can and provide scale, support, and expertise to our members on solar power supply — the same reasons they formed Wolverine nearly 70 years ago.

I hope you can get out and enjoy Michigan’s beautiful sunshine this summer. When you feel that sun on your skin, think about how that just might power our future.