Nearly $5 million for hosting renewable energy projects will fund community projects in seven cities and townships

Third round of EGLE Renewables Ready Communities Awards will support building enough utility-scale solar and battery storage to power more than 975,000 Michigan households

LANSING, Michigan — Today, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announced the third round of Renewables Ready Communities Awards (RRCA). This round will support deployment of more than 978.5 megawatts (MW) of solar power and battery storage – enough clean energy to power more than 975,000 Michigan households and businesses.

“By providing resources to help local governments make critical investments in areas like roads and public safety, Michigan’s Renewables Ready Communities Awards are making a real difference in communities across the state,” said EGLE Director Phil Roos. “This round of awards will support the build-out of more clean, affordable power to hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents. We are committed to providing resources that improve our communities; lower energy costs; reduce emissions; and protect our precious land, air, and water resources – and this program does just that.”

The RRCA awards program provides flexible funding to local units of government to help fund community improvements and additional services for their residents. Examples include local road and bridge repairs; public safety systems; park and playground enhancements; accessibility accommodations; and upgrades to grounds, energy for public buildings, and streetlights.

The program aims to accelerate the build-out of large-scale renewable energy projects such as wind, solar, and storage by providing these incentives for communities that permit and host the projects. RRCA grants are provided in addition to the tax revenue and community benefits already received by host communities.

The new third-round awards total $4,892,950 and support seven local units of government for the following projects:

• $1.25 million to Moorland Township in Muskegon County for the Muskegon Solar Energy Center project.
• $1.1 million to the City of Trenton for the Trenton Channel Energy Center project.
• $1 million to the City of Ecorse for the Redstart Energy Storage project.
• $600,000 to Fremont Township in Saginaw County for the Eagle Creek Solar Park project.
• $429,050 to Augusta Charter Township and $303,900 to York Township, both in Washtenaw County, for the White Tail Solar project.
• $210,000 to Coldwater Township in Branch County for the Cold Creek Solar project.

The program’s first round was announced in October and the second round in December.

Including the new round, awards through the program total $12.43 million – over one-third of its $30 million budget allocation – to 23 counties, cities, and townships across the state’s two peninsulas that are hosting enough solar and battery storage to power nearly 2.5 million households.

Coldwater Township received two previous awards through the RRCA.

“These awards will significantly enhance our financial bottom line,” said Township Supervisor Donald E. Rogers. He said the township is considering investing in office expansion to benefit residents conducting business there, road improvements that have been on hold for lack of funds, and accessible park playground equipment.

Trenton Mayor Steven Rzeppa said the program provides the city opportunities it wouldn’t otherwise have.

“This award from EGLE will make a tremendous difference in Trenton as we look to improve our West Road streetscape and enhance placemaking opportunities in our downtown,” he said.

Deploying renewable energy at scale is essential to averting the worst impacts of climate change by meeting the state’s MI Healthy Climate Plan goals. The RRCA is a key tool to meeting the 60% renewable energy, 100% clean energy, and 2,500 MW storage standards set under the state’s landmark 2023 clean energy laws. Clean energy resources like those supported with this program are helping Michigan achieve a diverse, affordable, and sustainable energy portfolio.

Ongoing funding opportunity

There is no deadline to apply for this funding opportunity. Grants from RRCA will remain available until funds are depleted.

For more information on the RRCA, including eligibility requirements, funding amounts, and awardee obligations, visit EGLE’s Renewables Ready Communities Award website.

In 2024, EGLE was awarded $129.1 million from the federal Inflation Reduction Act’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program to:

• Scale up the RRCA program.
• Launch a pilot project to build renewable energy projects on brownfields.
• Strengthen EGLE’s Renewable Energy Academy that provides technical assistance for local and tribal governments to improve planning, siting, and permitting processes for renewable energy facilities.
• Support clean energy-related workforce development programs.
• Develop a comprehensive strategy to meet the state’s renewable energy goals.

2024 MI Healthy Climate Plan Annual Report highlights continued progress toward climate goals

Report highlights legislative action, state and federal funding, programs, and engagement that are growing the economy, creating good-paying jobs, lowering costs, and protecting our natural resources

Michigan continues to take bold steps to avert the worst impacts of climate change. The 2024 MI Healthy Climate Plan Report focuses on the past 12 months of new legislation, funding, initiatives, and more to build a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous future for all Michiganders.

The report assesses key accomplishments on the path to the state’s goal of 100% carbon neutrality by 2050 as spelled out in the MI Healthy Climate Plan (MHCP), the state’s climate action roadmap, and provides insight into public engagement and sector specific updates.

The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Office of Climate and Energy (OCE) prepares the report annually and presents it to the Governor.

“Implementing the MI Healthy Climate Plan will reduce the impact of climate change on Michiganders, ensure we capture the benefits of a clean energy economy, and protect our precious land, air, and water resources,” said Phil Roos, EGLE Director. “We accomplished a lot in 2024 and set the stage for more progress to come. This report should provide valuable insights to our strategy and progress. I hope that it inspires continued partnership and action. We have a lot of work ahead of us and need everyone to join the fight against climate change and secure the benefits of this transition.”

Announced in 2022, the MHCP charts a path to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 52% from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving 100% carbon neutrality by 2050. It commits Michigan to strategies that mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, spur economic development and create good-paying jobs, improve the health of Michiganders, protect our natural resources and wildlife, make Michigan energy independent, and address environmental injustices.

Highlights of the 2024 report include:

• Implementing clean energy laws: State departments established workgroups, held public engagement sessions, and fleshed out a Community and Worker Economic Transition Office to support the landmark package of bills the Governor signed in November 2023.
• Lowering energy costs with new legislation: In July, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill giving homeowners who are a part of a homeowner’s association the freedom to make energy-saving home improvements, including installing solar panels. The Governor also signed legislation to lower utility bills by increasing eligibility and funding for the Michigan Energy Assistance Program.
• Investing in impactful climate efforts: In June, the state Legislature passed a bipartisan budget that made significant investments to combat climate change, tracking closely with the MHCP’s Roadmap to 2030, including investments to add clean energy to the electric grid, increase public transit, improve housing, and more.
• Bringing home federal funding: A new report from Climate Power finds Michigan leads the nation in landing projects funded through the federal Inflation Reduction Act, spurring over $27.8 billion in investment and creating or advancing over 26,000 good-paying jobs. Michigan has also brought home significant resources from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that align with the MHCP. Among 20 significant federal allocations in 2024 are the following awards of $50 million or more:
  • A $1.52 billion loan guarantee to restart the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Southwest Michigan, providing power to over 800,000 households and businesses.
  • $156.2 million to launch the MI Solar for All program, increasing access to rooftop and community serving solar for low-income families and reducing energy bills by 20%.
  • $129.1 million to expand technical and financial resources for communities that choose to host renewable energy, clean energy workforce development, and more.
  • Approximately $87 million to tribes, local governments, and nonprofits to protect residents from extreme weather, expand clean energy projects, and more.
  • $67 million to upgrade the Livernois Intermodal Facility, reducing pollution for the surrounding neighborhoods.
  • $50 million for Nel Hydrogen to build an electrolyzer manufacturing facility in Michigan, creating more than 500 good-paying clean energy manufacturing jobs.
  • $50 million to make Michigan’s roads resilient to climate hazards such as flooding.
• Driving public service work in communities: Two cohorts of the MI Healthy Climate Corps were launched, with 61 corps placements across the state to develop practical resources for Michiganders, bolster the state’s sustainability workforce, guide resources to communities, and build climate action capacity in communities while gaining workforce and leadership skills.
• Sharing data and providing sector-specific snapshots: The report summarizes actions to support communities and workers, reduce environmental injustices, and reach climate goals across the five largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions: electrical power generation, transportation, the built environment, industry, and natural and working lands.

The report also provides an update on activities of the Michigan Council on Climate Solutions and the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice, which met several times last year on ongoing MHCP implementation. EGLE’s OCE continues to work in concert with state departments and agencies, tribal and local governments, and other key partners to ensure that all Michiganders enjoy the benefits of this transition.

About the MI Healthy Climate Plan and Annual Report

In 2020, Governor Whitmer assigned EGLE, through its OCE, the task of developing the MCHP. The MHCP was released in April 2022 after extensive statewide engagement that included consultation with tribal governments; meetings with the Council on Climate Solutions, workgroup members, and key stakeholders; and consultation from the Michigan Advisory Council on Environmental Justice. Since 2022, the OCE has provided an annual report to the Governor on activities in support of the plan’s implementation.

Annual Michigan State of the 

Multiple agencies and organizations come together to share progress and challenges in Michigan waters

LANSING, Michigan —Today, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) released the 2024 Michigan State of the Great Lakes Report. The report explores major accomplishments, issues, initiatives, and challenges related to the health and sustainability of our Great Lakes—the world’s greatest surface freshwater system. Partner is a word you’ll find more than 50 times in the new report. In 15 articles over more than 30 pages, the magazine-style annual report touches again and again on how individuals, communities, organizations, universities, tribes, and governments unite around the ecology and economy of Michigan’s Great Lakes. The report also includes introductory reflections by Governor Gretchen Whitmer and EGLE Director Phil Roos.

“Living in a state surrounded by 21% of the world’s fresh surface water, every Michigander has a unique responsibility to steward and protect our water resources, both Great and small,” Roos said of the report. “Our waters are central to our heritage, key to our economy, and are a critical natural resource. The 2024 State of the Great Lakes Report highlights the challenges these resources face and the importance of collective action to protect them. I hope it will inspire continued action as we head into a new year.”

By statute, EGLE’s Office of the Great Lakes (OGL) prepares and submits the report each calendar year to the state Legislature on behalf of the Governor. In addition to being delivered to state legislators, the 2024 report is posted online along with recent years’ editions.

The Great Lakes hold 21% of the world’s fresh surface water and provide drinking water for more than 30 million people in the U.S. and Canada. A Michigan Sea Grant study of 2018 data found that the lakes supported more than 1.3 million jobs generating $82 billion in wages annually – equivalent to more than $100 million in 2024.

This annual report calls us as Michiganders to reflect on stewardship of our water wonderland,” said EGLE Great Lakes Senior Advisor and Strategist Emily Finnell. “I believe every reader will find cause for celebration along with motivation to do even better.”

Finnell wrote in the report about highlights of OGL action and funding priorities including a green maritime economy; groundwater data; environmental justice, equity, and inclusion; and pollution from plastics and microplastics.

The report highlights activities related to every Great Lake bordering Michigan and specific regions from the Detroit area to Benton Harbor to northern Michigan rivers and streams and everywhere in between. Topics and sectors covered include agriculture, shipping, recreation, education, science, infrastructure, invasive species, conservation, funding, and more.

Leaders and staff from a wide range of Great Lakes and environmental organizations and agencies authored articles for the report: the City of Benton Harbor; EGLE; Friends of the Detroit River; the Michigan departments of Agriculture and Rural Development, Labor and Economic Opportunity, and Natural Resources; Michigan State University and the MSU Extension; the Nature Conservancy; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and the University of Michigan Water Center.

Here’s a cover-to-cover list of topics covered:

• OGL achievements and plans: The office within EGLE is approaching its 40th year with a strong resume and a long to-do list.
• Researching and monitoring the Great Lakes: EGLE’s Great Lakes coordinators report on a year of science in and around lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie.
• Remediating Detroit River sediment: Cleaning up 100-plus years of pollution in one of Michigan’s designated Areas of Concern is a team effort.
• Guarding against invasive carp: An interstate agreement will accelerate work on an essential barrier to the fishes’ spread into the Great Lakes.
• Bringing back Arctic grayling and lake whitefish: Two iconic Great Lakes species could soon resume spawning runs in Michigan rivers.
• Combating Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms: A Domestic Action Plan Team is working to reduce phosphorus concentrations and nutrient loading in the Western Lake Erie Basin.
• Advancing the “blue-green economy”: A Michigan Maritime Strategy focused on clean energy will lead the way to economic and environmental benefits.
• Embracing Michigan the Beautiful: Partners are uniting to conserve, connect, and restore 30% of the state’s waters and lands by 2030.
• Progress restoring Benton Harbor’s Ox Creek: Community involvement continues to drive action on a top regional priority in West Michigan.
• Protecting vital coastal wetlands: A new blueprint tool will soon guide conservation planning from Saginaw Bay to the Lake Erie Basin.
• Managing stormwater amid climate change: New approaches can bring costly but necessary infrastructure upgrades within reach.
• Providing support for failing septic systems: A loan program is now available to help homeowners meet the high costs of repair or replacement.
• Supporting water efficiency and conservation: New projects are exploring best practices in agriculture and beyond.
• Reaching K-12 students: The state’s From Students to Stewards initiative is expanding with learning based on places, problems, and projects.
• Connecting water with wellness: Research shows how access to healthy waters can improve people’s mental and physical well-being.

About EGLE’s Office of the Great Lakes: The OGL develops policy and implements strategic programs to protect, restore, and sustain the Great Lakes watershed. The office collaborates with partner organizations to support sustainable water use and development of Great Lakes maritime resources; support vibrant and resilient communities; foster water stewardship; and advance science, research, and policy to solve the next generation of water challenges. Its mission is to ensure a healthy environment, strong water-focused blue economy, and high quality of life for Michiganders.

EGLE grants to help turn contaminated sites
into new housing

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is awarding two $1 million Brownfield Redevelopment Grants to help build new housing in Oakland County.

Riverfront Place, 211 First Street, Rochester This property has a long industrial history going back to the 1890s. It’s been used for bulk fuel storage, coal storage, machine shop, and railroad operations, and has been vacant since 1990. Soil and groundwater are contaminated with petroleum compounds, chlorinated solvents, and metals. The EGLE grant will be used to pay for further site assessments, demolition work, asbestos abatement, transportation and disposal of contaminated soil, management of contaminated groundwater, special gaskets for utility piping, a physical barrier to keep contamination from moving off-site through utility trenches, and a vapor mitigation system to keep vapors out of the new buildings. Plans for the $28 million Riverfront Place call for a five-story building with 129 apartments along with five separate buildings with three townhomes each. The developer is including things like a rain garden, amphitheater, and picnic area because the redevelopment is in the Clinton River Watertowns Project, an initiative to help communities improve their riverfront and water quality while alleviating the impact of climate change. Construction is expected to be finished in the summer of 2028.

Hillside Townes, 33000 & 33107 Thomas Street, 33104 Grand River Avenue, Farmington Three vacant sites will be turned into new downtown housing. 33000 Thomas was a former school and is contaminated with petroleum compounds. The other properties had homes on them and are contaminated with chlorinated solvents. The EGLE grant will be used to transport and dispose of approximately 5,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, site investigations, and demolition of the former school and the houses. Plans for the $19.5 million redevelopment call for 53 owner-occupied townhomes that are a crucial part of the city’s effort to revitalize its downtown corridor. The developer will build a promenade on two city-owned lots starting at Grand River Avenue. $2.1 million in federal funding will be used for a public pathway through the development that connects Grand River Avenue to Shiawassee Park. A $1 million grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation and $500,000 from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments will help make the area even more pedestrian friendly. The developer expects to finish construction in 2027.

More than half of EGLE’s annual budget supports local projects, protects public health and the environment, and helps create economic growth and jobs for Michigan workers. Redevelopment increases the value of brownfield sites and other nearby properties. In 2023 EGLE awarded $31.3 million in brownfield incentives to 88 projects around Michigan.