LANSING – The Michigan Public Service Commission announced the recipients of almost $5 million in grants for renewable energy and electrification projects, with the 14 awardees ranging from units of local, state and Tribal governments to businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Through Public Act 121 of 2024, the Fiscal Year 2025 budget act, the Legislature directed the MPSC to develop the grant program. The act provided a total of $4.875 million to be awarded for renewable energy and electrification infrastructure enhancement and development projects in Michigan.

The grants must go toward planning, developing, designing, acquiring, or constructing renewable energy and electrification infrastructure projects.

In awarding the grants, the Commission used the criteria outlined in the Request for Proposals, which reflected the boilerplate language around aligning with one or more of the goals of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan, prioritizing projects located within distressed areas of the state, and to the extent possible working to balance electric vehicle charging infrastructure grants between those that offer charging at or above 200 kilowatts and those that offer charging at or above 350 kilowatts, among other criteria.

The MPSC sought requests for proposals from eligible organizations in January 2025 and posted all 76 of the applications submitted, which sought a total of more than $40.5 million.

The recipients are:

  • Ann Arbor Charter Township, solar and battery storage, $152,450.
  • City of Kalamazoo, carport solar array, $452,652.
  • City of Ypsilanti, solar on residential homes, $250,000.
  • Glen Oaks Cooperative, Ypsilanti, townhomes and community center solar, $68,000.
  • Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, community resiliency hub, $357,396.
  • Refugee Development Center, Lansing, solar, $255,137.
  • Regents of the University of Michigan, community solar planning, $271,010.
  • Solar Tonic, Highland Park, community solar, LED smart poles and WiFi, $399,981.
  • Superior Watershed Partnership, home energy assessment, home solar and EV charging stations, $358,074.
  • The New Foster Care, Bloomfield Township, solar green roof with EMS and battery system, $1,279,000.
  • Universal EV, 480 kilowatt (kW) charging station, Houghton Lake, $276,725.
  • Universal EV, 480 kW charging station, Port Huron, $276,725.
  • Universal EV, 240 kW charging station, Alpena, $201,125.
  • Universal EV, 480 kW charging station, Madison Heights, $276,725.

The anticipated grant start date is Jan. 1, 2026. The grants are contingent upon review and approval of the State Administrative Board.

Additional information about the grants is available the MPSC’s website for the program.