Ann Arbor Ponders Microgrid Alternative To Coal And Gas Powered Local Utility

If Ann Arbor is successful, it could demonstrate that municipalities need not be beholden to the power companies that serve them. The audacious idea of skirting the utility’s control of the city’s energy provision has symbolic significance beyond Ann Arbor. According to Latitude Media, It shows that cities intent on decarbonizing their electrical supply may have options beyond the traditional utility model.

Ann Arbor, Michigan has a population of about 124,000 and is home to the University of Michigan. Like many college towns, it tends to skew toward the liberal side of the political spectrum. The city has adopted a policy to get all of its electricity from renewable sources no later than 2030. But it is served by DTE Energy, which is moving much too slowly toward reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. At the present time, DTE gets most of its electricity from thermal generation — 54 percent coal and 14 percent methane gas.