100-MW Michigan solar project supports Ford automotive

DTE Energy has finished building a new 100-megawatt solar facility, Cold Creek Solar Park, near Coldwater, Michigan. The power goes toward Ford Motor Company's goal of running its Michigan vehicle plants on carbon-free electricity by the end of 2027. Ford buys renewable power through DTE's MIGreenPower program, which lets homes and businesses pay to have their electricity use matched with Michigan-made solar and wind power rather than fossil fuel generation.

For homeowners in DTE's service area, this program is actually open to you too, not just big companies like Ford. MIGreenPower lets residential customers sign up to attribute their household electricity use to renewable sources the utility is building around the state. Projects like Cold Creek add to that supply of clean power on the grid.

DTE now operates 20 wind parks and 36 solar projects across Michigan, producing enough electricity to power close to a million homes. The company frames these projects as bringing broader benefits too, including tax revenue for the towns that host them and local construction jobs. If you live in Michigan and want to know whether your own electricity could come from sources like this, checking DTE's MIGreenPower program details would show what options and costs apply to a home account, since enrollment terms differ from the large-scale deals utilities strike with manufacturers like Ford.