Resources
Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability & Innovations
Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility
Transcription
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and in a time of funding uncertainty, there is indeed for creation of more public-private community partnerships that will help ensure ongoing development of our clean energy infrastructure. I'm David Fair, and welcome to this week's edition of Issues of the Environment. The volatility in national funding and massive regional demands on our electric grids has the City of Ann Arbor working toward that end. Great ideas sometimes come with great price tags, and it takes creativity to bring concept to reality. That's why Missy Stults is with us today to talk about the work and how to pay for it. Missy is Director of the Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations in Ann Arbor. And it's always good to have you on, Missy!
Missy Stults: David, it's always such a pleasure! Thanks for the opportunity to be here today!
David Fair: How have these shifts in the priorities of the federal administration impacted some of that top-down funding in Ann Arbor?
Missy Stults: Yeah. It would be fair to say that the well is a lot drier than it was before for strategic investments in sustainability, equity work, and other kind of priorities that we have here in the city. It's not completely dry, but we certainly have to be a lot more surgical and creative in how we pursue funding, how we think about public-private partnerships, how we lean into kind of innovative funding techniques wherever we can, and, of course, leveraging the local climate action millage that our residents approved in 2022.
David Fair: Well, how does the uncertainty at that federal and state level impact the city's ability for longer-term strategic planning?
Missy Stults: You know, that's a really great question. And what I would say is, in some ways, the Biden-Harris administration was the anomaly for local governments. It was the first time the federal administration really invested in sustainability work at any scale that was deeply meaningful. And so, unfortunately, we're pretty accustomed to having to be nimble and flexible and move. And so, we have strategic plans that look at multiple options for funding. Of course, we're looking at where there is federal grants, we're looking at philanthropic resources, we're looking a partnership with the university, public-private partnership out in the community, we're working at how we leverage our own capital, how we integrate into the fiscal budget. And then, we're looking at other ways that maybe we can incent something, as opposed to do the whole thing that we want to do. So, like many things in the sustainability field contingency, planning is pretty critical.
David Fair: While there are more challenges in longer-term planning, there are shorter and more immediate needs in order to achieve the unrivaled goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2030. Fair to say progress toward that end has been slowed?
Missy Stults: No, not at all! We haven't slowed down one little bit because we can't. The science demands it. Our public demands it. We are sprinting at different initiatives. What might look different is what we do today might not have been what I projected we would do in May of '26 or June of '26. But it is still in the suite of things that we would do. The example I often give is if you read A2ZERO, our community-wide plan for carbon neutrality by 2030, you'll find that we said we would start tree planting for our 10,000 Trees Initiative right about now. Well, we're already done. We're already over 12,000 trees planted because the pandemic hit. And so, we had to pivot how people engage with the movement. It's the same in this political moment. We just pivot. So, geothermal is something that's still really viable. Energy efficiency is something we can still work on. Thinking about PFAS, those are all initiatives we can fill new. They may not have been what I thought three years ago would be the thing I'd be working on today, but they're still all really important.
David Fair: Our Issues of the Environment conversation with Missy Stults continues on 89.1 WEMU. Missy is Ann Arbor's Sustainability and Innovations Director. Well, one of the pivots that was made was the work on the voter authorized Sustainable Energy Utility. It continues as the city works to create more reliable and independent source of green energy. It is, of course, a supplement to DTE Energy when it comes to electricity generation. Beyond use of renewable energy, how will this undertaking advance that concept of localized partnership?
Missy Stults: It is beyond exciting! For folks who don't know, the SEU actually has already installed its first assets. We have solar systems and energy storage systems being installed today that are part of the SEU. So, we are--
David Fair: About a hundred of them in the Bryant neighborhood, right?
Missy Stults: That's right! Yeah, yeah! We're in the process of installing a hundred, but we already have some that are online working, and that's just so exciting because those are real tangible assets that are being installed in the community. And that improving their resilience, the reliability of our grid, it's helping folks get lower energy bills like that is just tangible and real. And this year in '26 is the year in which we're building those assets and all of the supporting ecosystem, the billing system, right, the support staff, all the contracting, the easement. It's quite complicated standing up a utility, and it's even more complicated to stand up one that no one has ever done before, right? But we're forward. Next year, in '27, we anticipate a thousand more installs coming in. So, all of this is helping us meet our climate goals, but it's also helping us address those other issues you named: resilience, affordability, reliability. That's just inherently part of this movement towards a sustainable and equitable future for all.
David Fair: And when you talk about affordability, for those who want to get in on the lowest possible prices, now's probably the time, right?
Missy Stults: Oh, it's a great time to get involved. We have a saying in our office: "The best time to act was yesterday. The second-best time is today." So, come on in! We can't wait to welcome you into the movement!
David Fair: Well, when coupled with available federal and state granting funding initiatives that still exist, does this localized clean energy and climate resiliency kind of measures gain more traction?
Missy Stults: I think that they do. I mean, I hope that they do. We're seeing incredible testimonials come out of people whose lives are shifting and changing for the better, whether that's a resident who told us--I think I've shared this with you in the past--there's a resident in Bryant who's very, very vocal about how her home was killing her. There was a gas leak. There was mold. She was close to losing her home. And then, the investment that has been made have just completely transformed it to an asset that now has intergenerational wealth potential for her. The first solar installation through the SEU was the home of Bruce, and there's a video out in an Mlive article that talks about this where he said he's always wanted solar. But now, he knows that his daughter will inherit this house and will be taken care of in a sustainable way So, we're seeing people make investments or be part of the movement and have really transformative impacts from improved indoor air quality, of course, intergenerational wealth, lower energy bills. And there's also something to be said about the pride of being part of the movement, being something that's bigger than you, helping address the climate crisis. The climate crisis is a wicked, challenging initiative. And so, we launched the I Am A2ZERO campaign to really tell the story of every little thing that you do. Whether that's using a cloth napkin, riding a bus, those things, using a lending library, they all add up to make a difference, and our community is stepping up to this moment in a just really beautiful way.
David Fair: There is another shift that, in fact, is likely to be considered a movement, and that is toward hyperscale data centers. Right now, you're listening to WEMU's Issues of the Environment. We're talking with Missy Stults. She is the Ann Arbor Sustainability and Innovations Director. These data centers are right here in Washtenaw County. The developer of the particular project in Saline Township has promised it's going to fund all energy-related costs. But since that announcement, we've seen DTE get one consumer rate increase approved and immediately request another. Does the prospect of more data centers and utilities and utility uncertainty change the way Ann Arbor is going to go about reducing grid reliance on DTE?
Missy Stults: That's a great question, and my answer is maybe. I think that is a really important movement for us to be thoughtful and critical about future energy demand broadly. I will say I tend to think a little bit differently than others in the landscape. We already have many data centers. But hyperscalers, no. We have lots of data centers throughout Washtenaw County. And sitting in a building across the street, there's a mini-data center that's part of a normal business, right? It's just a server room. What if we could do smart land use planning in which we actually site mini-data centers in core areas and capture the waste heat that comes off of those servers to provide all the heating and cooling for our downtown districts. What if we put them in a neighborhood where they fit into the local facade, completely and totally, and they provide free heating and cool for all of our lowest income residents or for our high income? Wherever it makes sense to put these particular uses. So, I'm not saying, "Don't do them." I'm saying we need to kind of take a minute, really think strategically about how we can leverage this moment because we are using a lot of computational power, whether that's the phone that I'm talking to you on, the computer that's running in the background, right? Those things are using a lot of energy continually. And I don't see us moving away from that. So, I think this is a really strategic moment to catch our breath and say, "How can we use this advancement to the benefit of everybody?"
David Fair: Is there time to catch your breath though? Because these things are popping back very quickly. And unless we get a handle on the regulation and how best to incorporate them into our community, we're always going to be working behind the eight-ball.
Missy Stults: I think you're right. So, that's where I think having these six-month moratoriums where we're sitting together and really saying, "Okay, how do we regulate this in a way that's mutually beneficial for folks?" I think that's really strategic. And I hope that's what we lean into. That's something we're very interested in here is at least having that conversation with our peers throughout the county and region.
David Fair: Well, over the years, and yet again today, I have found you to be an optimist--a pragmatic one, but nonetheless an optimist. Does the will remain greater than the obstacles as you move the A2ZERO plan forward?
Missy Stults: Yeah. I think hope is a verb, and I have hope because we're doing the thing. Our residents are doing their things. Our businesses are doing the things. We're passing the ordinances. And it's hard. I don't want to sugar coat it. There's scars all over my brain, my body. This work is really complicated. If it was easy, it would have already been done, right? Like, this is hard stuff! We're changing system. But we are doing it, and that gives me hope that we'll continue on the path. It will not look like how I think it's going to look. It will look fundamentally different, and that's kind of the joy and the adventure of this journey we're on. But, yes, I think we will rise to this moment, and I think that we have to rise to this moment.
David Fair: Well, thank you so much for the time and once again for a great conversation today, Missy! I do appreciate it!
Missy Stults: My great pleasure! Thanks for the opportunity!
David Fair: That is Missy Stults. She is the Director of the Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations and our guest on Issues of the Environment. For more information on what we've been discussing today, stop by our website at WEMU.org. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and you hear it every Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU Ypsilanti.
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