U-M graduate students have partnered with Ypsilanti-based Clean Energy Coalition to develop a self-sustaining funding mechanism that would provide capital to eight of Michigan’s poorest cities, including two western communities, for investments in energy-efficiency projects.
Benton Harbor and Muskegon Heights are two of the eight participating cities. Others include: Detroit, Flint, Hamtramck, Highland Park, Pontiac and Saginaw.
Energy efficiency offers Michigan municipalities an attractive opportunity to reduce energy use, save money, and mitigate environmental impacts, but many cash-strapped cities lack the seed capital to invest in these projects.