Clean Energy Project:
Access MI Solar
We are excited to announce that the Access MI Solar program is now available in both the Petoskey and Traverse City areas! Homeowners and businesses within a
40-mile radius of either city are eligible to participate, meaning a generous swath of northwest Lower Michigan from the Mackinac Bridge to Manistee!
Learn more about the Access MI Solar Program by watching the webinar recording!
2025 sign-up is now open thru May 31, 2025! Have an estimate prepared for your home or business. REGISTER HERE.
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 as more customers join the group-buy effort, with a maximum possible discount of 10% on the hardware costs of the solar installation.
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.
Solar panels have made remarkable strides in both efficiency and affordability in recent years. While there’s some uncertainty around IRA funding for solar projects, one thing is crystal clear: 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.
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
Letter to Lansing on SB438: Let Energy Innovators Lead
Groundwork and our new Clean Energy Policy Specialist Dan Worth submitted written testimony concerning Senate Bill 438-a bill introduced by Senator John Proos to repeal provisions of the Clean, Renewable, and Efficient Energy Act. We support a stronger state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), more energy optimization, and full retail credit for residential and commercial solar systems. SB 438 does the opposite.
Phony Energy ‘Markets’ Need Mandates from Lansing
The debate among state lawmakers over how best to update Michigan’s renewable energy policies reveals a stark difference. Some in Lansing are loath to actually require our monopoly utilities to add more renewables or help customers cut energy waste. But others insist that only strong legislation that forces utilities to provide additional clean energy will get the job done. History favors the pragmatists.
Guest View: About the Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change. Many leading climate scientists and economists assert that the best first-step to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic climate change from global warming is to enact Carbon Fee and Dividend legislation.