City, CMS Energy dedicate Lake Michigan Filtration Plant solar array

Published on June 09, 2022

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The City of Grand Rapids’ Lake Michigan Filtration Plant (LMFP) is now partly powered by onsite renewable solar energy. This morning, Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, City Commissioners, City Manager Mark Washington, Grand Rapids Sustainability and Water System staff, Energy Advisory Committee representatives, CMS Energy Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Brian Rich and Harvest Solar representatives flipped the switch on a 0.90 megawatt (AC), 2.95-acre ground-mounted behind-the-meter solar array in the northwest corner of the LMFP property, 17350 Lake Michigan Dr, West Olive, Mich.

The Grand Rapids Water Department is expected to save an estimated net $1.55 million over 24 years based on average annual electricity cost savings of $200,000 (total of $2.86 million). The array will generate 1.5 million kilowatt hours per year, which accounts for 10% of the LMFP’s electricity consumption. What’s more, it’s expected to increase the City’s renewable energy performance from 37.5% to 41%, helping to continue progress on the City’s goal of 100% renewable energy for municipal operations by 2025. The array will eliminate approximately 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents – the equivalent of removing an estimated 230 passenger vehicles from the road.

Mayor Bliss shared at the dedication event that, “Getting more solar installed on City facilities has been a priority of mine for a long time. Climate change is a crisis and the City is working hard to source 100% renewable energy by 2025. Installing a large-scale solar array at the Lake Michigan Filtration Plant is a huge component of our strategy to achieve that goal.”

“Today’s ribbon cutting ceremony celebrates the partnership between CMS Energy and the city of Grand Rapids as we help lead Michigan’s clean energy transformation,” said Brian Rich, CMS Energy’ Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer. “The new onsite solar plant at the Lake Michigan Filtration Plant represents another step forward for the city as it commits to using 100% renewable energy for its municipal operations, and CMS Energy is proud to play a role in helping to make this goal a reality. This project further supports CMS Energy’s goal of supporting our customer’s success and protecting our planet today and for generations to come.”

The City started its sustainability journey in earnest around 2005 with a goal to source 20% of municipal electricity from renewable sources by 2008, which was one of the first municipally announced renewable energy goals. Since that time, the City has been purchasing 16.6 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy credits at a cost of $115,000 annually via Consumers Energy’s Green Generation program. After achieving that goal one year early, the City was one of the first to set a 100% by 2020 goal and then in 2017, extended the goal date to 2025. It currently sources 37.5% renewable energy via a small solar array at the Oak Industrial Drive office, Consumers Energy’s renewable portfolio and the purchase of renewable energy credits.

Since early 2018, the City of Grand Rapids and its Energy Advisory Committee (EAC) have been evaluating the costs and benefits of installing onsite solar at eight of its facilities and properties. The original analysis was done in partnership with the National League of Cities, the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Cadmus via the SolSmart program. In partnership with the EAC, the City initially focused on reevaluating the opportunity to install solar at the Butterworth Landfill (a previous contract had fallen through in early 2016 due to a contractor bankruptcy). After the pandemic significantly impacted the City’s finances in early 2020, the EAC and City shifted gears from focusing on solar at Butterworth.

The solar evaluation completed as a part of the SolSmart program identified the LMFP as a key facility with a large and consistent (24/7/365) electricity demand and consumption, higher electricity rate and available square footage for solar. In late summer 2020, the City, CMS Energy and ES Services began collaborating on innovative ways to install solar at the 67-acre LMFP. In early October 2020, the City’s sustainability and performance management officer, Alison Waske Sutter, provided the City Commission with an overview of renewable energy performance and opportunities and recommended that the City pursue a solar array at the LMFP. On Dec. 1, 2020, the City Commission approved the City entering into a Solar Equipment Service Contract with ES Services Company to construct, own and operate a solar array at the LMPF for an annual cost to the City’s Water Department of $119,004, which equals $2.86 million over the 24-year contract term.

In March 2021, the project team received a zoning variance from the Grand Haven Township Zoning Board of Appeals to install solar in the front yard of the LMFP. In May 2021, the Grand Haven Township Planning Commission approved the solar array with contingencies, including the installation of a landscaping berm and vegetation along Lakeshore Drive and Lake Michigan Drive. This fall, CMS Energy will coordinate the planting of a nearly 3-acre pollinator field of native wildflowers and grasses around the solar panels. The City will also install a three-foot tall landscape berm with approximately 500 evergreen and deciduous shrubs as a natural scenic barrier along Lakeshore Drive and Lake Michigan Drive.

“Installing a nearly 1 megawatt behind the meter solar array at our filtration plant is the result of the collaboration of many, especially the Energy Advisory Committee, and the team’s dedication to bringing large-scale solar projects to City facilities.” Alison Waske Sutter said. “Behind-the-meter solar can be an economically viable option for energy production and one that improves air quality, decreases carbon emissions and enhances climate resilience. This project is a great example of the City’s commitment to sustainability as a core value and our Strategic Plan commitments to use 100% renewable energy for our municipal operations, reduce our carbon footprint and enhance climate resiliency.”

Advancing the City’s 100% renewable energy performance will also help the City achieve its best-in-class greenhouse gas emissions goals, which City Manager Washington announced in October 2021 and includes reducing municipal emissions by 85% by 2030 and achieving net-zero by 2040. If the City can achieve 100% renewable energy, then it expects to achieve an 80-85% emissions reduction. The City has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 30% since 2008 and is projected to achieve a 47% reduction by 2025 due in large part to this LMFP solar project, the biodigester and LED street lighting conversion.

About the Lake Michigan Filtration Plant

• The City of Grand Rapids is a regional provider of drinking water to municipalities in Kent and Ottawa counties
• We are proud of the high-quality and safe drinking water we provide our customers every day and we take this responsibility very seriously
• Serve a population of over 300,000 by treating water from Lake Michigan and pumping it to a service area of 137 square miles
• The LMFP used 17,236,501 kilowatt hours of electricity in 2020, which was 23% of all electricity used by City of Grand Rapids municipal operations

About CMS Energy

CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) is a Michigan-based company that has an electric and natural gas utility, Consumers Energy, as its primary business. It also owns and operates independent power generation businesses. Companies interested developing renewable energy services can contact ES Services at ESServices@cmsenergy.com.