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Step 1: In a 2018 City Council Resolution (#17-1899), Ann Arbor, MI committed to reach 100% renewable electricity use for municipal operations by 2035. The document also recapped several other energy and climate-related resolutions that Ann Arbor had already committed to, such as installing 24 megawatts of solar by 2025. This is an example of Step 1 in the Local Government Portal.

Step 2a: In its 2018 Renewable Energy Strategy, the Office of Sustainability and Innovation laid out how Ann Arbor would reach 100% renewable electricity by 2035. The plan included information about planned energy efficiency upgrades and a discussion of feasible local renewable resources, as well as a detailed analysis of possible on- and off-site solar locations and the expected cost savings of each. This is a great example of Step 2 in the Local Government Portal.

Step 2b: In March 2020, Ann Arbor published a new and more ambitious goal of reaching carbon neutral community-wide by 2030. Their Carbon Neutrality Plan Exitimproves on previous plans and lays out a 24 megawatt solar project on a landfill, with a pilot for solar floating on a retention pond. The city commits to finishing the feasibility assessment (step 3) in 2020 and hopes to have the project operational by 2023. Ann Arbor is also planning to create and implement a 100% renewable CCA by 2027, to create a large community solar project, and to facilitate bulk buys of residential solar plus storage. This is a great example of Step 2 in the Local Government Portal, and a great example of how plans can evolve over time.

• City of Ann Arbor: Initial Strategy for 100% RE (PDF)(2 pp, 106 K)
• City of Ann Arbor: 100% RE Strategy (PDF)(37 pp, 2 MB)