Renewable Energy: Fundamentals and Beyond
As large-scale renewable energy projects become more common in Michigan, communities are encountering new questions about how these projects work and what they mean locally. Renewable Energy Fundamentals and Beyond is a collection of curated videos, research, and resources designed to equip Michiganders with a fundamental knowledge on topics related to large scale renewable energy projects and the conversations that communities have about them.
In 2025, MSU Extension conducted a statewide needs assessment to better understand Michigan local officials' information and education needs related to renewable energy. The findings helped shape this program by identifying the topics communities cared about most and guiding the development of educational resources to meet those needs.
Cost: Free
Topics Covered
There are six topics covered in depth in this course material:
- Michigan’s Energy Infrastructure – Learn how the electric grid is managed, the cost of generating electricity, and how utilities and regulators ensure safe, reliable, and affordable electricity.
- Safety and Environment – Explore common concerns raised by communities about impacts from solar, wind, and battery energy storage systems on safety and the environment.
- Ecovoltaics and Agrivoltaics – Consider strategies that integrate solar energy production with agricultural production and/or ecosystem services. Learn about the potential for these strategies to support farm profitability, rural economic development, biodiversity, and local farmland protection policies.
- Marginal Lands – Learn about planning approaches and siting practices to minimize conflicts between solar energy systems and other land uses and landscapes.
- Sound – Explore how sound, measurement methods, background conditions, and regulatory standards shape local decisions about renewable energy projects.
- Decommissioning – Examine the key elements of decommissioning plans and agreements that help ensure that renewable energy facilities are properly removed when they are no longer operating.
Course Format
The course material consists of a series of short, recorded presentations organized by topic into playlists, plus several supplemental resources for each course topic.
When you register for the course, you will automatically be sent a welcome email. That email will explain how to access the course material. A week later you will receive a second email reminding you about the course material.
Finally, about three months after you have registered, you will be sent a final email asking for your feedback on the course and how the content has been used.
How to Register
To access the course material at no cost, click the registration button below. You will be prompted to enter some basic contact information on the first registration page.
A second page will ask you to provide your race, ethnicity, gender, and your county of residence. Providing this information is voluntary. The information that you provide will not be used in any way to identify you personally but rather as a member of a group that participated in this program.
Register to Access Course Content
Course material for MSU Extension’s Renewable Energy Fundamentals and Beyond was developed based on work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation through the Reliable Energy Siting through Technical Engagement and Planning (R-STEP) program. R-STEP is administered with support from the Partnership Intermediary Agreement that the U.S. Department of Energy has established with ENERGYWERX.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the course material do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government.
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