University of Michigan to reduce emissions by 25 percent within six years

The University of Michigan (U-M) has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2025, through a series of renewable energy purchases via DTE Energy.

By the time it is through, U-M estimates that around half of its purchased electricity will come from Michigan-sourced renewables. The process will begin in two years, when the university begins buying 200,000 megawatt hours annually, as part of DTE’s MIGreenPower renewable energy program. That energy comes from solar and wind projects.

“Reducing the greenhouse gas footprint of electricity that U-M purchases was a key recommendation made by members of our campus community,” U-M President Mark Schlissel said. “This agreement will help us achieve our existing GHG reduction goal, and is an important step on our university’s road to carbon neutrality.”

The U-M purchases will halt an estimated 141,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. Much of this comes from natural gas. The U-M President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality continues to work on methods of scalable and transferable solutions for reduction even as this agreement cements itself.

“Reducing carbon emissions and supporting our state’s clean energy economy are top priorities for DTE – in fact, we just accelerated our own carbon reduction targets by a decade and will reduce emissions by at least 80 percent by 2040,” Trevor F. Lauer, president and COO, DTE Electric, said. “U-M joins both Ford and General Motors in choosing MIGreenPower to help meet enterprise sustainability targets. The program is a great way for residential, business and commercial customers to reduce their carbon footprint easily and affordably.”