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!
"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 2024 Participant
Learn more about the Access MI Solar Program by watching the webinar recording!
2026 early bird sign-up is now open! 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 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
Lansing Turns Toward Clean Energy Debate
Michigan’s clean energy entrepreneurs and advocates hope to hear some good news from Lansing about renewable energy next week.
That’s when the Michigan Public Service Commission and the Michigan Energy Office release the first of four draft-summaries of comments the public gave them earlier this year regarding the state’s future energy goals.
Mackinac Oil Pipeline Rally Marks TC350’s Revival
Last month, a surprisingly large number of people showed up at a remote northern Michigan park to rally against something that, weeks earlier, few of them had ever heard about: the twin, 60-year-old pipelines that transport 22 million gallons of oil a day beneath the Straits of Mackinac. Attracting a crowd to a distant location for a rally about a largely unknown pipeline is impressive; so is reviving a moribund organization to produce the event in just six weeks.
Can Grand Traverse County Set the PACE?
It’s time for Grand Traverse County to use a state law to help local firms cut energy costs and boost bottom lines. The 2010 law, called PACE-Property Assessed Clean Energy-allows local governments to establish bonds for loans to improve commercial buildings’ efficiency or install renewable energy devices, cutting their utility bills. Local units then use special property tax assessments for loan repayments.