Energy costs touch every Michigan household, shaping monthly budgets, the comfort and safety of our homes, and the choices families make about everything from groceries to transportation. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy's (EGLE) Office of Climate and Energy is presenting Energy Affordability webinars within the MI Healthy Climate Webinar Series to highlight how Michigan is working to keep energy affordable for all residents. The mini-series is informed by the MI Healthy Climate Plan, which recommends limiting the energy burden from powering and heating homes to not more than 6 percent of annual income for low-income households. The mini-series will explore how renewable energy, energy efficiency, home repair, distributed energy resources, and energy assistance work together to lower costs, showing that a cleaner energy system and a more affordable one go hand in hand. We will feature state agency leaders, implementers, technology providers, community organizations, and more actors who are shaping Michigan's approach.

1. Energy Affordability Mini-Series Kickoff - Recorded October 22, 2026
   The Michigan Public Service Commission's (MPSC) June 2026 order established a goal to reduce the energy burden of income-constrained residential customers to not more than 6% of household income (Case No. U-20757). The goal maps to 4% of household income for electricity and 2% for natural gas. Anne Armstrong, Director of the MPSC’s Customer Assistance Division, discussed how the order realigns energy assistance programs around the 6% goal. She covered what utility pilot programs showed about affordable payment plans, and the next steps toward an implementation plan due January 31, 2027. Attendees got an overview of Michigan’s energy assistance programs and heard how expanded eligibility and funding for assistance enacted in 2024 could help as many as 150,000 Michigan households when fully implemented.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Office of Climate and Energy is presenting this Decarbonizing Michigan Industry Mini-Series to highlight Michigan’s statewide strategy to advance industrial decarbonization, focusing on how the state is working across technology, policy, technical assistance, and financial resources to support industrial facilities in reducing emissions and strengthening long-term competitiveness. This mini-series highlights both global and local perspectives on industrial decarbonization, sharing lessons learned from other regions alongside Michigan-based case studies that showcase local leadership and emerging project pathways.

1. Part 1 - Recorded June 23, 2026
   This session moves from statewide strategy to the practical first steps facilities can take today. First, the Office of Climate and Energy provide an overview of the State's decarbonization goals. Then Elizabeth Boatman from 5 Lakes Energy, and Richard Hart from American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, provide a deeper dive into energy efficiency as the foundational, and often lowest-cost, lever in any decarbonization plan, and how it sets the stage for deeper measures. Attendees will gain a clear picture of the State's decarbonization goals and learn why energy efficiency is typically the first and lowest-cost step toward meeting them at the facility level.
2. Part 2- Recorded June 25, 2026
   This session explored two foundations every successful industrial decarbonization effort depends on: the people around a project and the capital behind it. Hear how meaningful community engagement strengthens project outcomes and ensures decarbonization delivers benefits to surrounding communities and workers. Then learn more about the climate finance landscape, including the funding mechanisms, capital structures, and financing pathways that help Michigan facilities move projects from concept to construction. Join Dr Jalonne White-Newsome, University of Michigan, and Wesley Garner, Concrete Transition Capital, to gain practical insights on community engagement in industrial decarbonization and a working understanding of how to finance these projects at the facility level.
3. Part 3- Recorded July 30, 2026
   This session from Renewable Thermal Collaborative (RTC) focused on how utility rate structures influence industrial thermal decarbonization. Industrial electricity and gas rates play a central role in shaping project feasibility, cost competitiveness, and long-term planning for facilities pursuing lower-emission thermal technologies. This session provided an overview of how rate design affects industrial decision-making, including the ways certain rate structures can present challenges and how targeted reforms or utility programs can help accelerate progress. Presenters from RTC discussed how manufacturers evaluate rates when assessing electrification and other renewable thermal options, and how industry can effectively engage with utilities and regulators.
4. Part 4 - Recorded August 27, 2026
   This session brought together international perspectives on how governments and companies are approaching the work of decarbonizing industrial operations. Speakers discussed the technologies and policy strategies gaining traction internationally, how global industrial actors are navigating decarbonization across different regulatory contexts, what's driving and preventing progress abroad, and how those lessons can accelerate industrial decarbonization here at home and inform Michigan’s approach.
5. Part 5 - Recorded October 6, 2026
   This session provided an overview on the active EGLE programs that help Michigan industry improve energy efficiency and advance industrial decarbonization. Attendees heard what each program funds, who is eligible, and how facilities and their partners can access support.

This webinar provided an overview of the MI Healthy Climate Challenge #3: Growing Green Lending, the third grant opportunity in the MI Healthy Climate Challenge series. Challenge #3 aims to expand clean energy financing across Michigan by better enabling community lenders to offer more accessible and affordable green lending products. Attendees learned about the types of projects eligible for funding, examples of project models, and key program priorities. Eligible applicants, including Michigan-based financial institutions, nonprofits, community organizations, technical assistance providers, and other partners working directly with community lenders, were encouraged to attend to see how their work can align with the goals of the program.

Challenge #3 applications opened on February 2, 2026, and will close on March 22, 2026, 11:59 PM EST.

Recorded August 19, 2025.
This webinar is the second in a two-part series on Elective Pay. Presented by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Office of Climate & Energy (OCE) and MI Infrastructure Office (MIO) Technical Assistance Center (TAC), we will dive into the essentials of Elective Pay by exploring what it is, the types of clean energy projects it can fund, who qualifies, and how to unlock these valuable benefits. We will also unpack the recent changes under the OBBBA (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) legislation and explain what they mean for accessing Elective Pay. If you are a tax-exempt entity (tribal government, non-profit, school district, house of worship, rural electric co-operatives, etc.) looking to take advantage of federal clean energy tax credits, this webinar is for you!

Recorded August 13, 2025.
This webinar, presented by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Office of Climate & Energy (OCE) and MI Infrastructure Office (MIO) Technical Assistance Center (TAC), will introduce two newly launched resources designed to help entities access Elective Pay, including the second MI Healthy Climate Challenge: Unlocking Elective Pay, the new Elective Pay Ambassador Program, and free expert accounting support for 2025 projects. If you are a tax-exempt entity (tribal government, non-profit, school district, house of worship, rural electric co-operatives, etc.) looking to take advantage of federal clean energy tax credits, this webinar is for you! This webinar is first in a two-part series. We are hosting the second webinar on August 19 from 1-2 p.m. and will take a deeper dive into Elective Pay and how it can support clean energy projects.

Deploying renewable energy at scale is critical to meeting the state’s climate and energy goals, and siting is arguably the most important barrier we face to build more solar, wind, and so much more across Michigan. The purpose of this webinar is to provide an overview of Michigan’s recently awarded $129.1 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This investment will help Michigan meet its 60% renewable energy in the MI Healthy Climate Plan and 100% clean energy standards set under the recently enacted clean energy laws. The grant will support the creation of the Renewables Ready Communities Program which includes:

• Expanding the Renewables Ready Communities Award pilot, an initiative launched in 2024 with a one-time state investment of $30 million, that provides financial incentives to local and tribal governments that approve and host utility-scale renewable energy and energy storage through local processes. 
• Creating the Brownfield Renewable Energy Pilot program to provide grants for renewable energy projects on brownfields, incentivizing deployment on brownfields.
• Strengthening EGLE’s Renewable Energy Academy to develop technical assistance for local and tribal governments to improve planning, siting, and permitting processes for renewable energy facilities and the new Brownfield Renewable Energy Pilot program. 
• Supporting workforce development programs to ensure Michigan has the workforce needed to build enough renewable energy to meet the state’s 2030 goals.

Speakers include Cory Connolly from EGLE’s Office of Climate and Energy, Zona Martin from EGLE’s Energy Services Section, and Julie Lowe from EGLE’s Brownfield Redevelopment Program.

Local governments or entities interested in utility-scale renewable energy projects and renewable energy projects on brownfields, and anyone interested in hearing about the grant award and plans moving forward should attend this webinar.  

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and Michigan Economic Development Corporation will be expanding upon Governor Whitmer’s announcement at the MI Healthy Climate Conference on May 17, 2024. This SEFI determination calls for large-scale clean energy technology projects to launch in Michigan and encourages economic development for new and existing organizations in Michigan while accelerating progress toward Michigan’s goal of reaching 100% carbon neutrality by 2050. Hans Riemer from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office will join to provide an overview of the SEFI program.

Public and private entities managing large-scale decarbonization projects (of at least $100 million, which can be an aggregation of smaller projects) should tune in to this webinar to hear from both of Michigan’s SEFIs and the DOE LPO about how SEFI support for your project can help open up new federal financing streams.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Office of Climate and Energy (OCE) submitted the state of Michigan’s application for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Solar for All Competition to help advance the goals in the MI Healthy Climate Plan.

Through the U.S. EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), the $7 billion Solar for All Competition will award grants to states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and eligible nonprofit recipients to expand the number of low-income and disadvantaged communities (LIDCs) primed for distributed solar investment with overall objectives to:

• Reduce emissions of GHGs and other air pollutants
• Deliver benefits of GHG and pollution reducing-projects to LIDC
• Mobilize financing and private capital to stimulate additional deployment of GHG and pollution-reducing projects

If you are a resident interested in solar, contractor, manufacturer, local government, or community-based organization, you should attend this webinar. Attendees will learn about the Solar for All program and how it may impact communities across Michigan.

The Inflation Reduction Act authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a $27 billion investment to mobilize financing and private capital to combat the climate crisis and ensure American economic competitiveness. Through the GGRF program, the EPA will allocate the fund through three competitions: Solar for All, National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF), and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA). Through these competitions, the fund aims to scale deployment of clean technologies nationally, build community clean financing capacity locally, and spur adoption of clean distributed solar energy in disadvantaged communities.

Attend this webinar to learn about the EPA’s NCIF and CCIA competitions, how these programs can support clean energy and green construction projects in Michigan communities, and how community lenders and project developers can apply for capital funding and technical assistance. This webinar is intended for community lenders (CDFIs, credit unions, etc.), port authorities, business owners, contractors, housing authorities, developers, local and municipal government agencies, small businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, and anyone interested in learning more.

The State of Michigan is committed to promoting awareness of the U.S. EPA Community Change Grant opportunity and supporting community-based groups working on environmental and climate justice to pursue these funds.

View this webinar to get an introduction to the Community Change Grants and learn how frontline environmental and climate justice communities and grassroots groups can benefit from this unique and unprecedented program.

You will also learn about opportunities to receive no-fee/pro bono technical assistance for developing organizational capacity, project plans, partnerships, and applications for the Community Change Grants.

The MI Healthy Climate Fellows (MHCF) is a soon-to-launch initiative by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Office of Climate and Energy (OCE) in partnership with the Michigan Community Service Commission to leverage state and federal investments for advancing the goals in the MI Healthy Climate Plan.

Starting in early 2024, the MHCF will field a cohort of 30 federal AmeriCorps members who will provide vital support for climate action across Michigan. Fellows members’ service will build capacity in governments and nonprofit organizations across the state to further Climate Plan goals, helping to guide federal and state resources and support to communities and people who need it most. Networking, training, and professional experience will develop Fellows members’ skills and relationships for the long haul and future careers.

Attend this webinar to hear how EGLE is drawing on a tried-and-true model from other states to build a unique, transformative and equity-centered program in Michigan to meet the moment. We will cover how the MHCF will be engaging with community partners, state agencies, and others to identify needs and opportunities for this program, setting up a process to request support, and recruiting Fellows candidates.  

If you are a government or nonprofit organization on the frontlines of addressing climate change in Michigan and want to host a member, or if you might be interested in serving as a MI Healthy Climate Fellows AmeriCorps member, you should attend this webinar. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program provides states, local governments, and tribal nations flexible resources to plan for and pursue ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution reductions to achieve three broad objectives:

1. Tackle damaging climate pollution while supporting the creation of good jobs and lowering energy costs for families;
2. Accelerate work to address environmental injustices and empower community-driven solutions in overburdened neighborhoods; and,
3. Deliver cleaner air by reducing harmful pollution in places where people live, work, play, and go to school.

Attend this webinar to hear how the state of Michigan is using the $3 million planning grant to accelerate the implementation of the MI Healthy Climate Plan and provide a strong framework for pursuing corresponding upcoming competitive funding from the EPA. We will discuss the general purpose of the grant, our proposed approach to public and stakeholder engagement, grant timeline, future funding opportunities, and other grant deliverables.

EGLE’s Chief Climate Officer, Cory Connolly, will give an overview of how the MI Healthy Climate Plan came to be, the Plan’s Roadmap to reach our goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 52% from 2005 baselines by 2030, and where we’re heading with upcoming federal funding opportunities.

With the creation of the MI Healthy Climate Plan under Governor Whitmer’s leadership, historic federal and state funding for climate action, and upcoming legislation, we are getting things done in Michigan! Learn what's happening, where we're heading, and how you can get involved.