In the Michigan Celebrates Small Business series, Dave Harwood, Director, Renewable Energy, DTE Energy, Detroit, MI speaks with Chris Holman about how DTE Supports Small Businesses in Michigan’s Clean Energy Economy.
DTE Foundation is a Contributing Sponsor of Michigan Celebrates Small Business, and Dave shares how DTE Energy is connecting with small business in Michigan.
To listen to Dave and Chris's full interview please click on the embedded SoundCloud PodCast below!
- The DTE Energy Foundation is a strong advocate of supporting small businesses and nonprofit organizations that help to make our communities stronger and more prosperous. The Foundation closely aligns with the mission of Michigan Celebrates Small Business, and we support local businesses across the state to serve as a catalyst for creating an entrepreneurial culture while inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.
- DTE has a voluntary clean energy program called MIGreenPower. It provides residential and small business customers with an easy and affordable way to reduce their carbon footprint by increasing the percentage of their energy use attributable to local wind and solar energy projects, up to 100 percent. We currently have about 30 small businesses enrolled in the program. They range from a vintage clothing store in Ann Arbor to a paint store in St. Clair Shores. One of our small business customers equated his participation in MIGreenPower as costing less than a cup of coffee a day.
- DTE offers a number of programs to support small businesses. These include: a complimentary energy consultation where a specialist will visit your business to help identify ways to save energy. Another popular program is the DTE Energy Commercial Lighting Instant Discount Program. This program connects businesses and trade allies with participating distributors to receive instant discounts on LED products.
- Since 2010, DTE has spent more than $9.2 billion with Michigan-based suppliers, creating 24,000 jobs. DTEprioritizes partnerships with in-state suppliers; last year buying more than 70 percent of its goods and services from in-state suppliers. In 2018, the company spent $1.7 billion with Michigan businesses, creating and sustaining more than 8,000 jobs across the state.
- To help business and residential customers access cleaner energy, we are aggressively increasing the amount of renewable energy in our generation portfolio and we recently announced that we have accelerated our own carbon reduction goals. At the end of March, we announced that we will reduce carbon emissions by at least 80 percent by 2040 and we filed our Integrated Resource Plan, laying out our roadmap for reaching this target. In the short-term, we will more than double our renewable energy, investing an additional $2 billion over the next five years and we are expanding our MIGreenPower program.
