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
Expanding program measures energy efficiency of homes
Most people stop and think about the miles per gallon rating before buying a car, but don’t consider the “energy mileage” they get from their homes.
Mike Hayes: GLE Co-op Must Heed Calls for More Clean Energy
Mike Hayes is retired, but he’s not taking it easy. Recently he helped organize Mancelona’s community garden and construction of its new farmers market pavilion. Now Hayes is running for the Great Lakes Energy co-op’s board of directors.
Mary Brower: More Renewables, Efficiency for Great Lakes Energy
Mary Brower is running for the Great Lakes Energy Cooperative board of directors because she wants her utility to embrace the future-particularly moving beyond coal power to more renewable energy and energy efficiency. Great Lakes Energy members will receive a ballot for their board of directors election in the July-August issue of the co-op’s magazine, Country Lines, which hits mailboxes soon. Brower recently took a break from her daily farm chores to speak by phone about her campaign to persuade fellow co-op members to check her name on the ballot and mail it in.