Clean Energy Project:
Access MI Solar
Enrollment is now open for the 2026 Access MI Solar program!
For a free, no-obligation estimate, sign up by May 31!
The program is now available from Mackinaw City to Manistee. Homeowners and businesses are eligible to participate.
"For me, going solar was about moving away from fossil fuels for my grandkids’ future and the health of our community. The savings helped, but we made the switch more for moral reasons than financial. I’d tell anyone in the community it’s really about the environment and making things better for the next generation."
— A Past Participant
Learn more about the Access MI Solar Program by watching the webinar recording!
2026 registration is now open! Have an estimate prepared for your home or business. REGISTER HERE.
Bonus for nonprofits and other tax exempt entities. You can receive direct refunds from the IRS for clean energy project tax credits, such as solar, wind, or commercial electric vehicles. Watch our webinar on Direct Pay.
Proudly partnering with Leelanau Energy.
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.
We remain committed to supporting local solutions to the climate crisis, increasing our region's 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! Together, we are empowering people to develop local, clean energy, and climate solutions!
The process is simple: The chosen installer will offer a higher discount through the Access MI Solar group-buy program.
Signing up in no way obligates you to sign a contract with the installer. That will be your decision to make later when/if you are ready after you see your estimate.
Solar panels have made remarkable strides in both efficiency and affordability in recent years. While tax breaks for home solar are no longer available, solar is still a cost-competitive technology. Also important: the destructive toll of fossil fuels on our planet is undeniable, and its consequences will echo through generations to come. The time to act is now. The longer we wait, the greater the cost—both to our environment and to future generations.
(BONUS: When you install solar, you inspire others to go solar too! "The strongest indicator of whether a household would install solar was whether their neighbors had." — National Renewable Energy Lab)
GET INVOLVED!
Resources
inspiration!
Clean Energy Stories
“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
Clean energy siting series: Q/A with Ed Rivet, Executive Director, Michigan Conservative Energy Forum
With this article, we launch a series of interviews with people involved in expanding clean energy infrastructure in Michigan. The topic takes on added relevance these days as the federal administration works to slow or even halt renewable energy projects, while...
Takeaways from the Ice Storm People’s Hearing in Gaylord
By February 26, 2026, nearly a year had passed since northern Lower Michigan’s great ice storm of 2025 brought an estimated $500 million in damages to communities and forests here. At Treetops Resort in Gaylord, operations were largely back to normal. The parking lot...
Opinion: Clean energy is winning, actually, in Michigan
This piece first published in Bridge Michigan. Despite federal efforts to slow the clean energy transition, renewables are charging forward in Michigan, the Midwest, and the nation. Proof: The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that renewables...