Clean Energy Project:
Access MI Solar
We are excited to announce that the Access MI Solar program is now available in both the Petoskey and Traverse City areas! Homeowners and businesses within a
30-mile radius of either city are eligible to participate.
Join us virtually on Thursday, April 13, 12-1 pm, via Zoom to learn more about the Access MI Solar Program.
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83545066746
Groundwork is committed to increasing access to affordable solar energy in Northern Michigan. Through our group-buy program, Access MI Solar, we plan to increase local solar capacity, advance clean energy education, and work with community leaders to make this program a pillar of our region.
Key motivations for this program include addressing the climate crisis, increasing local energy security and resilience, and helping homeowners and small businesses to afford solar panels. Plus, going solar saves many customers significantly on their electric bill over time! We are empowering people to develop local, clean energy, and climate solutions!
The process is simple: We ask installers to offer a higher discount as more customers join the group-buy effort. Those discount rates are 5% with 4+ participating households, 10% with 7+ households and 15% with 10+ households. These discounts apply to the physical components of the system, not the design, permitting or installation. Last year, our program easily met the mark for the 15% discount!
This process starts with one or several potential customers requesting bids from installers. After we have received bids from several installers we will meet with the potential customers to decide on one installer to work with. Our customers have chosen to go with CBS solar, for a second year in a row!
Now, we are seeking any and all customers in the Traverse City and Petoskey areas to request their bid and join our program by April 22nd, 2023! We are committed to fostering local solutions to combat the climate crisis and ensure equitable access to resilient climate solutions. Increasing the amount of local solar generation will lower carbon emissions and will lead to increased grid reliability and increased energy security for our communities.
To learn more about Access MI Solar, please contact Liv Rollinger.
GET INVOLVED!
Resources
“Thank you so much for helping raise all of the funds for our solar project at Westwoods! Thanks to you, we reached our goal so much more quickly than I'd expected. So now I can move on to other things including other solar projects...”
— Nicola Philpott, President, Parent Teacher Organization, Westwoods Elementary School, Traverse City Area Public Schools
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?
Access MI Solar News
Horses, Buggies, and SB438: Senate bill would kill state’s clean energy leadership potential
A century ago, Detroit and Michigan were growing like cherries in June. As the nascent auto industry took hold in Detroit and Michigan, it attracted ambitious, hard working people from around the world who wanted to work on Henry Ford’s new-fangled production line.
Letter to Lansing on SB438: Let Energy Innovators Lead
Groundwork and our new Clean Energy Policy Specialist Dan Worth submitted written testimony concerning Senate Bill 438-a bill introduced by Senator John Proos to repeal provisions of the Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act. We support a stronger state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), more energy optimization, and full retail credit for residential and commercial solar systems. SB 438 does the opposite.
Phony Energy ‘Markets’ Need Mandates from Lansing
The debate among state lawmakers over how best to update Michigan’s renewable energy policies reveals a stark difference. Some in Lansing are loath to actually require our monopoly utilities to add more renewables or help customers cut energy waste. But others insist that only strong legislation that forces utilities to provide additional clean energy will get the job done. History favors the pragmatists.