DTE Energy is building its first MIGreenPower community solar project in Washtenaw County. The 20 MW facility will be the largest in the region and is designed to support the City of Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township with achieving their clean energy goals. Additionally, all DTE Electric customers will have the opportunity to subscribe to this project.
MIGreenPower is a voluntary renewable energy program that enables DTE customers to match their energy use to the company’s wind and solar projects. Program participation accelerates the development of new wind and solar projects, moving the state closer to a carbon neutral future.
“With this project, DTE is bringing a large-scale community solar installation to the residents of Washtenaw County,” says Trevor Lauer, president of DTE’s electric company. “This is just one of many new solar projects DTE plans to bring online by 2025 to empower communities of Michiganders to go solar together.”
Over the next decade, DTE will develop several utility-scale solar projects on the state’s shared electric grid, as well as smaller community solar projects, providing customers with increased access to low cost solar energy, Lauer adds.
This new community solar project will be located on a capped landfill and on a greenfield site owned by the City of Ann Arbor. If built, the City of Ann Arbor will serve as the project’s anchor tenant, meaning it would agree to purchase power not subscribed by other customers. Pittsfield Township will be prioritized as the project’s first subscriber and will use the project to reach its 100% renewable energy goal.
DTE is issuing an open Request for Proposal (RFP) for the engineering, procurement and construction of the project and anticipates that the project will begin generating energy in 2023. Interested bidders must register their company information on the PowerAdvocate website. Once registered, bidders can access the full RFP via PowerAdvocate using this link.
“We want to thank the City of Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township and the Michigan Public Service Commission for their partnership in moving this project forward,” Lauer says. “We have been working closely with leaders of both communities to help them achieve their clean energy goals and help Michigan become a carbon neutral energy state.”
DTE is Michigan’s largest producer of and investor in renewable energy. The company’s 50 wind and solar parks generate enough clean energy to power nearly 700,000 homes. Over the next two years, DTE will double its clean energy generation and invest an additional $2 billion in renewable energy infrastructure. As part of its goal to achieve carbon neutrality and to meet its customers’ needs for more clean energy, DTE will continue to expand its renewable energy portfolio as part of its long-term generation plans.
Image: Gerry Anderson Video #32 shot on location, DeMille Solar Farm, Lapeer, Michigan
