Over 70% Renewable Energy Now Powers City Operations

Over 70% of the electricity used to power City of Ann Arbor facilities and operations is now generated by renewable energy sources, the city is announcing. This achievement comes after 67 more city sites were enrolled in Michigan’s Electric Customer Choice Program, which allows customers to make their own choices about how their energy is generated. The city’s alternative energy supplier is Constellation Energy, the nation’s largest producer of carbon-free energy. Seven city sites were already signed onto similar contracts. 

Now at 74 sites overall, just over 70% of Ann Arbor’s overall electricity usage for its operations is generated from renewable energy sources pulled off the grid. In addition to this, solar at Ann Arbor city facilities generated almost 600 megawatt hours of additional electricity in 2024, a small but growing portion of overall usage. Over 2 megawatts of additional behind-the-meter solar systems are planned for city facilities in the coming two years, with some currently being installed. Together, this work is helping the city make notable strides toward its goal of powering all of its operations with renewable energy.

“Once you build momentum, it’s hard to slow down,” said Simi Barr, senior analyst with the City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations. “Recently, we’ve installed numerous renewable energy systems at city facilities, started working on building electrification, and made notable strides in electrifying a significant portion of our fleet, including electric refuse and bucket trucks. Thanks to our work to produce and procure more renewable energy, we can proudly say that the city is actively implementing solutions that help to equitably address the climate crisis — and we are on track to do a lot more.”

To learn more about the work going into decarbonizing municipal operations, visit the A2ZERO dashboard. 

The City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations was founded in 2018 and is guided by the Ann Arbor Carbon Neutrality Plan: A2ZERO. A2ZERO is Ann Arbor’s plan to achieve a just and equitable transition to carbon neutrality, community-wide, by the year 2030. Learn more at www.a2gov.org/sustainability.   

# # # # #

Media Contact: 

Simi Barr, Office of Sustainability and Innovations Senior Analyst – Municipal Operations, sbarr@a2gov.org