With more wind and solar, we can move to 100% clean energy

Too much of our energy comes from coal, oil and other dirty sources that wreak havoc on our environment.

We are surrounded by clean energy options — the power of the sun, the movement of wind, the heat of the earth, even just preventing energy from leaking from drafty windows in our homes and businesses. By using energy more efficiently and tapping our vast renewable energy resources, we can move to 100% clean energy that doesn’t pollute and never runs out.    

Michigan has tremendous renewable energy potential — wind power alone could generate enough electricity to meet the needs of the entire state. We are currently spending $20 billion per year buying dirty, expensive energy from other states and countries. That money could be spent building renewable energy infrastructure and creating jobs here in Michigan.

Efficient buildings will spur energy savings

America’s homes are like cars that only get 10 miles to the gallon. Buildings consume 40% of America’s energy, and much of that energy is literally flying out the window rather than heating or cooling our homes and businesses. What’s worse, energy-wasting buildings are responsible for nearly half of our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Millions of Americans are already weather-stripping doors and windows, insulating attics, and making their homes more energy-efficient and thus healthier, more comfortable and less costly to heat and cool.

If everyone makes these small changes, they can really add up — to 334 million fewer metric tons of global warming pollution emitted each year, the equivalent of taking 65.5 million cars off the road. The average family could save up to $400 on its utility bills.

Visit the Plug Into Clean Energy Guide, published by the Environment Michigan Research & Policy Center, for tips on how to give your home an efficiency upgrade.


Clean Energy Updates

News Release | Environment Michigan

New Report: Strong Energy Efficiency Policies in Energy/Climate Legislation Would Save Michigan Families $211 per Year, Create 19,600 Jobs

A new national report finds that Michigan households would save an average of $211 per year and 19,600 sustainable jobs would be created in the state over the next ten years if Congress acts now to include strong energy efficiency improvements in energy and climate legislation. The report, entitled Energy Efficiency in the American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009: Impacts of Current Provisions and Opportunities to Enhance the Legislation, was released by Environment Michigan and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.  The efficiency provisions would prevent 10 million metric tons of global warming emissions, this is the equivalent of removing the pollution from over 1.8 million cars from the road for a year.   

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News Release | Environment Michigan

New Report Outlines Bold New Vision for Solar in America

From laundromats and baseball stadiums, to homes and cars, solar energy is already enhancing energy security and reducing pollution in America.  A new Environment Michigan report outlines a vision for using the sun to meet 10 percent of the United States’ total energy needs by 2030.

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News Release | Environment Michigan

EPA Unveils List of Cities with the Most Efficient Buildings, Detroit Ranks 15th

Today the Environmental Protection Agency released its second annual list of U.S. cities with the most Energy Star buildings.  They found that Detroit ranks 15th in the country, with 62 Energy Star buildings that save the equivalent of 12,500 homes’ electricity usage annually. 

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News Release

Building Better: How high-efficiency buildings will save money and reduce global warming

Michigan families could save over $1,100 every year on their energy bills by 2030 (and $1,800 by 2050) if Michigan policymakers invest in the energy efficiency of our buildings today, according to a report by Environment Michigan Research & Policy Center.  During a press teleconference releasing the report, a diverse coalition of organizations, city leaders and clean energy businesses unveiled a letter to the Michigan Senate calling for the immediate passage of PACE clean energy legislation (HB 5640).  The ReEnergize Michigan coalition – a statewide coalition made up of businesses, communities, faith-based groups, environmental organizations and labor unions – also announced its support for PACE and related policies that would boost Michigan’s energy efficiency competitiveness.

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News Release | Environment Michigan

First Ever U.S. Solar Jobs Census Shows Growth in Solar Workforce

Environment Michigan today released a new report from the Solar Foundation, a nonprofit solar education and research organization. The report found that Michigan has the 4th most solar related jobs in the country with an estimated 6,300 people employed by the solar industry. 

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