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
Plugged In: Opportunity Knocks in Snyder’s Energy Message
Reading the text of Governor Rick Snyder’s Special Message on Energy and the Environment, which is a bit more detailed than the remarks he delivered last Wednesday, it’s clear he’s serious about energy efficiency and, to some extent, renewables like wind and solar power. But he was also less detailed than some hoped.
Plugged In: No Time to Wait on Renewables
The ruckus over renewables isn’t over: Proposal 3’s advocates sound even more determined to boost renewables goals beyond their current “10 percent by 2015” target and make Michigan a jobs-rich, global, renewables manufacturing leader. And on Wednesday, Gov. Rick Snyder used his Special Message on Energy and the Environment to say he’s ready to start a conversation next year about resetting the goal for renewables.
Will Republican State Reps Renew Attack on Efficiency Mandate?
With Gov. Rick Snyder set to deliver his Special Message on Energy on Nov. 28, several Republican state representatives are declining to say whether they will renew their attack on Michigan’s “energy optimization” law, which saves residents money by requiring utilities to help customers use less power and natural gas.