Ann Arbor Awarded $250,000 Grant to Advance Sustainable Energy Utility

 The City of Ann Arbor has been selected to receive a $250,000 grant from the Municipal Investment Fund (MIF) to advance its newly created Sustainable Energy Utility. View the full image featured on this page

The Municipal Investment Fund is a 50-state strategy launched by Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) and ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability USA (ICLEI USA) to empower communities to use public/private investing to accelerate the development and construction of smart infrastructure projects across the country.  

The City of Ann Arbor will use the MIF grant to prepare an operational plan and financial strategy to launch a newly created, innovative and renewable energy-centered Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) that accelerates the city's clean energy transformation while simultaneously fostering economic development and enhancing climate resilience.  

“Ann Arbor’s Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) is a bold innovation that will transform energy systems in our city and serve as a model for communities all around the nation,” said Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility Shoshannah Lenski. “With strong support from our residents, elected leaders and collaborators — including this generous grant from the Municipal Investment Fund — we’re preparing to deliver energy the way folks want it: clean, affordable, resilient and local.”   

In November 2024, Ann Arbor residents overwhelmingly (79%) voted to create the SEU, a supplemental, opt-in, fee-based utility authorized to provide renewable energy, beneficial electrification and energy efficiency services to entities within Ann Arbor. The first of its kind nationally, the SEU was designed to help Ann Arborites have access to clean, affordable, local, resilient and reliable energy, regardless of income, ownership status or tenure in the city.  

Currently, the SEU is in the formative stage. With the hiring of the first SEU executive director, the city is actively working on the SEU’s strategic plan as well as exploring permitting, legal and design components related to launching the SEU. The MIF grant provides early-stage funding for this foundational work and helps open doors to additional investments from public, private and philanthropic sources.

“Municipal Investment Fund grant dollars will be instrumental in helping us move our newly created Sustainable Energy Utility from paper to financed, and eventually to generating renewable energy for all who opt to take service,” said Dr. Missy Stults, sustainability and innovations director for the City of Ann Arbor. “We’re thankful for this support and look forward to showing the world how renewable energy is here to stay.”  

Learn more about the Ann Arbor SEU. 

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Media Contact: 

Shoshannah Lenski, Executive Director, Sustainable Energy Utility, slenski@a2gov.org