Meet the Team: Energy Advocate Michael Coleman

This is a feature from the Fall/Winter 2024-2025 issue of the Upstate Advocate, Upstate Forever's twice-yearly publication. To read a digital copy of the complete publication, please click here.

As Energy Advocate at Upstate Forever, I work to help promote policies and technologies that advance clean energy and alleviate the energy burden for Upstate residents. One of the most fulfilling aspects of my role is being able to connect with community members, hear their experiences, and educate them on wide ranging energy-related issues — from transportation electrification to engaging with the South Carolina Public Service Commission (PSC).

A typical day on the job involves managing all aspects of our Energy program: research, public engagement, responding to specific inquiries from community members, monitoring our interactions with the PSC, and more.

Energy generation concepts can be complex and ever-evolving, so this requires near-constant analysis of the latest data, policies, and trends, as well as time spent researching various clean energy technologies like microgrids, solar power, and battery storage to determine their benefits for Upstate residents.

I also spend a lot of time meeting and collaborating with partners from around the state in several coalitions and working groups, including the SC Conservation Coalition, SC Electric Transportation Network, and SC Energy Justice Coalition.

In my role it is sometimes necessary to balance our organization’s environmental priorities with economic development and community considerations. Striking the balance between holding ground and maintaining relationships can sometimes be difficult. I work to navigate those intricacies with my favorite quote from Mahatma Gandhi in mind, “All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on fundamentals is a surrender.”

As our state faces unprecedented growth — and the energy demand that accompanies a massive population increase — we find ourselves at an energy crossroads. Legislators, utilities, and citizens must decide whether ratepayers should continue to be subjected to the price volatility of fuel and frequent rate increases, or if we can chart a truly equitable transition to clean energy that includes less expensive generation sources.

In the next 5 years, I would like to see SC pass energy transition legislation that protects ratepayers, promotes ramping up clean energy generation sources, upholds environmental protections and the required permitting processes, and ensures underserved communities have resources to access energy efficiency and weatherization upgrades.