DTE Energy (DTE) to Develop 20MW Solar Park in Michigan
DTE Energy DTE recently revealed its plan to construct a first-of-its-kind community solar project in Washtenaw County, MI, as part of its MIGreenPower program. The facility, with an expected generation capacity of 20 megawatts (MW), is projected to begin operations in 2023.
Notably, this announcement follows the regulatory nod that DTE Energy received in June 2021, from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to add a total of 1,000 MW of new wind and solar by the end of 2023.
Benefits Offered by the Solar Park
DTE Energy’s MIGreenPower program is among the top three voluntary renewable energy programs in the United States, which offers affordable renewable energy programs to eligible electric customers, thereby supporting the company’s wind and solar projects. Following the completion of the aforementioned solar park, DTE Energy will be able to offer clean energy to its Washtenaw County subscribers, which include the University of Michigan, Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor SPARK, several small businesses and more than 6,000 residential customers.
Once completed, the solar park, designed to support Michigan’s Ann Arbor city and Pittsfield Township, will be the largest solar project in the region, thereby boosting the company’s renewable portfolio.
Moreover, the facility represents one of many new solar projects that DTE Energy aims to bring online by 2025 to empower solar communities in Michigan.
DTE Energy’s Clean Energy Goals
DTE Energy is making efforts to steadily enhance its renewable generation assets. As part of its renewable energy plan filed on Aug 31, 2020, the utility got permission to expand its solar capacity by more than 420 MWs. Over the next two years, DTE Energy aims to double its clean energy generation and invest an additional $2 billion in renewable energy infrastructure. The latest solar park is part of this investment plan.
Also, to promote clean energy, the company remains committed to reducing carbon emissions of its electric utility operations by 32% by 2023, 50% by 2030, and 80% by 2040 from 2005 carbon emissions levels. DTE Energy expanded this commitment by announcing a net-zero carbon emission goal for DTE Electric and DTE Gas by 2050.
Utilities’ Adoption of Renewable Energy
To mitigate the deadly effects of climate change, in the United States, utilities are increasingly adopting renewable energy sources to produce electricity. Per the latest forecast made by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity generation from renewable energy sources is expected to rise from 20% in 2020 to 22% in 2021, primarily driven by the projected additions to wind- and solar-energy-generating capacity, along with the pledge for rapid reduction of carbon emission from their generating fleet.
Notably, like DTE Energy, there are other utilities also that have pledged for a net-zero carbon emission target in their path of progress toward a carbon-free environment. For instance, Duke Energy DUK aims to reach its target of net-zero carbon emissions from electric generation by 2050. Likewise, by 2050, American Electric Power AEP aims at reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 80%. Ameren Corporation AEE also plans to retire more than 75% of its current coal-fired energy-generating capacity by 2040, while closing all by 2042.
Price Performance
DTE Energy has lost 5.4% in the past year compared with the industry’s 0.7% decline.
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Zacks Rank
DTE Energy currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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