Traverse City Light & Power board members unanimously approved a new “decarbonization framework” this week – a policy that outlines how the city-owned utility will reduce emissions and make progress toward its goal of using 100 percent renewable energy by 2040. Traverse City became the first city in the state to commit to that goal in 2018, though Michigan itself is now following suit as it aims to go clean by 2050 – with Governor Gretchen Whitmer announcing a new initiative Thursday to explore green energy resources.

TCLP Executive Director Brandie Ekren called this a “milestone moment” in the utility’s history as it prepares to execute the “audacious goal” set by the board in 2018. She and other staff laid out a framework that provides a “durable, outcomes-focused structure for how TCLP approaches decarbonization over the long term,” according to a team memo.

The framework has three “pillars,” or areas in which TCLP plans to work to reduce emissions. The first, called Power Supply, reiterates the utility’s commitment to go green by 2040 and hit an interim target of using 60 percent renewable energy by 2035. TCLP is at about 41 percent right now. TCLP will continue to transition its purchased power to clean sources like wind, solar, landfill gas, and others, according to the plan.

Staff clarified they’d be tracking renewable energy certificates (RECs) attached to actual clean energy generation as they work toward the 100 percent target. “We’re not purchasing RECs just to accomplish a goal,” Ekren said. “The idea is that we want generation attached to it.” 

In addition to diversifying its portfolio, TCLP will continue to explore energy storage and “demand-side” solutions, the framework states. Demand-side solutions are those that encourage customers to manage or reduce their energy usage. Examples range from smart thermostats and electric vehicles (EVs) to TCLP’s recent transition to time-of-use rates, which trend higher when electricity is most in demand and expensive to produce and lower when costs and demand are lower.

Another pillar of the plan is Internal Operations. TCLP will “lead by example” by decarbonizing its own operations, including its fleet and workforce practices, said Sustainability and Climate Initiative Analyst Colin Hites. That will include a focus on electrifying the utility wherever possible and having sustainable procurement protocols, according to Hites. “This is really the walk-the-walk part of it,” he said, adding that TCLP would commit to “being climate leaders by taking care of our house.”

The third and final pillar is Community End Use. TCLP will seek to help the community reduce emissions by encouraging the electrification of buildings and transportation, as well as use of energy-efficient amenities. “In order to realize the full impact of cleaning the power supply as a means of mitigating the effects of climate change, you also have to electrify the end use to ensure that the benefits of that clean grid are being taken advantage of to the highest degree possible,” Hites explained.

While Traverse City doesn’t yet have its own greenhouse gas inventory, Hites said such inventories in other communities show that buildings – particularly their heating and cooling systems – and transportation are responsible for the “vast majority” of local emissions. Encouraging more EV use and energy-efficient heat pumps are examples of ways to reduce such emissions, Hites said. He added that as both a pragmatic approach to reducing emissions and a “moral imperative” for the utility, TCLP will need to ensure vulnerable populations – such as low-income groups – are included in the transition to electrification.

The decarbonization framework includes five “guiding principles,” including equity, affordability, reliability, innovation, and accountability. The policy will be reviewed at a minimum every five years, or sooner if “warranted by significant changes in state or federal law, market conditions, or updates to TCLP’s Climate Action Plan.” Ekren said staff will be creating specific metrics and dates for pillars in the framework so that TCLP is able to “measure success” as it moves toward its goals. Board member Elysha Davila encouraged her fellow board members to be aggressive in pursuing the utility’s aims.

“Not only is the original 100 percent goal exciting, because it's a hard number, but it's also really ambitious,” she said. “I just want to encourage this body and the newer folks here too to not shy away from maybe over-ambition in pursuit of these really important goals.”

Governor Gretchen Whitmer also announced plans this week to more aggressively pursue green energy goals for Michigan. Whitmer signed an executive directive Thursday to explore geologic hydrogen “as a usable, clean fuel alternative.” Michigan’s geology “makes it one of the most promising regions in the world for geologic hydrogen, a naturally occurring clean energy resource,” according to a release from Whitmer’s office. Investing in the field will “solidify Michigan’s place at the forefront of the U.S. hydrogen economy, which is projected to reach tens of billions of dollars in new economic activity,” the release states.

The executive directive builds on efforts to position Michigan for a “clean-energy future,” according to Whitmer’s office. The governor committed in 2020 to achieving 100 percent carbon neutrality in the state by 2050. Despite the cancellation of roughly $540 million in climate-related grants for Michigan under the federal administration, the state continues to invest millions in “in climate-resilient infrastructure, electric school buses, (and) renewable energy for low-income families,” according to Whitmer’s office. Michigan was ranked sixth nationally for clean energy jobs in the 2024 Clean Jobs America report by E2, which found the state leading in overall energy sector job growth behind only Texas and California.