University spokeswoman Kim
Broekhuizen said the commission
sought
to
include
diverse
perspectives from various fields of
expertise in its mission to achieve
carbon neutrality, noting DTE and
Consumers’ pledge to incorporate
more renewable energy sources into
their portfolios.
“It is absolutely critical for the
energy industry to be a part of
U-M’s exploration of scalable and
transferable solutions given the
fact that these companies are the
number one energy providers/
sources for our region and state,”
Broekhuizen wrote in an email.
“In addition, they have each made
their own renewables commitment
and
are
engaged
in
strategy
development that will be useful to
our own efforts.”
The first town hall of the
President’s Commission on Carbon
Neutrality on is expected to draw
a capacity crowd at Rackham
Auditorium on Monday night.
Broekhuizen said the commission is
intent on getting feedback from the
University community.
“Community
input
also
is
critical to the development of the
recommendations,”
Broekhuizen
wrote.
“The
commission
is
creating several advisory panels
– representing students, faculty,
university partners and external
stakeholders – to provide various
perspectives and expertise, and
to serve as a forum for connecting
with key stakeholder groups.”
Hofmeister and Serna, on the
other hand, see their roles on the
commission in a positive light,
saying they feel they can work to
ensure the commission is able to not
only plan but achieve and carry out
their carbon neutrality goals.
Both are well-versed in the
energy
industry.A
former
law
professor at Wayne State University,
Hofmeister published an article
in
the
Michigan
Journal
of
Environmental and Administrative
Law in 2012 discussing the benefits
and drawbacks of state energy
regulators acting as “potential
climate change regulators.”
Serna
was
previously
vice
president for strategic planning
and policy for Eversource Energy,
New
England’s
largest
utility
company, and before that, Serna
worked for Oliver Wyman’s Energy
& Utilities management consulting
practice, consulting utility and
energy companies in Europe, Latin
America and North America.
Serna
said
the
University’s
relationship with DTE would
enable the utility to be a crucial
partner
in
achieving
carbon
neutrality.
He
said
Schlissel
recognized this dynamic.
“As I understand, the President
was thinking about this goal of
carbon neutrality and what that
might mean for the University
when he started interacting with
different folks here within DTE,”
Serna said. “He understands that
we as an energy provider to the
University are going to be a critical
partner as he thinks through how to
reach this goal of carbon neutrality,
so in those discussions he solicited
for help through DTE.”
Serna said his experience in the
energy industry perspective would
offer the commission a valuable
perspective.
“I can imagine we’ll provide
our perspective on where we as
a company, DTE, (are) headed,
what type of programs we have
now or we might have in the
future that could support the
University in achievement of
this goal,” Serna said. “I see my
role … as being able to provide
that industry perspective as to
what’s happening in the energy
landscape, what’s happening
with DTE and how those could
be of help to the University in
achieving its ultimate goal of
achieving carbon neutrality.”
Hofmeister said Consumers’
drive
for
environmental
sustainability is one of the
forces behind his motivation to
aid the Commission in its goals
for carbon neutrality.
“The
University
is
an
important stakeholder in the
state of Michigan,” he said.
“Consumers Energy cares a lot
about the state of Michigan;
we care about our customers ...
Whether it’s greenhouse gas or
other sustainability missions,
we want to work as partners
to enable the customers vision.
We ourselves have a pretty strong
commitment
to
environmental
sustainability and are pretty well
versed in energy related issues to
the extent we can help partner
with any customer or stakeholder,
particularly a great Michigan
institution like the University,
achieve whatever its goals are.”
According to a 2015 report
from the President’s Greenhouse
Gas Reduction Committee, the
University purchases more than 60
percent of its electricity needs from
DTE. CAM founder Julian Hansen,
an LSA junior, said the utilities
had a financial stake that could
negatively affect the outcome of the
commission.
“A swift transition to U of M
carbon neutrality would most likely
decrease this reliance that we have
with DTE and therefore that causes
DTE and Consumers Energy to
have a financial incentive to slow
down the transition to carbon
neutrality,” Hansen said.
Financial
incentives
have
played a major role in power
utilities’ responses to clean energy
across the country, which have
varied from lukewarm to outright
opposition. In Michigan, DTE
and Consumers Energy have a
mixed record on their approach
to renewable energy. Both have
pledged to get 25 percent of their
energy from renewable sources by
2030, with Consumers announcing
plans in February 2018 to stop using
coal to generate electricity by 2040,
by which time DTE plans to retire
all of its coal-fired plants.
DTE aims to reduce carbon
emissions by 80 percent by 2050,
while Consumers Energy intends
to cut its emissions by 90 percent
by 2040, in addition to getting
40 percent of its energy from
renewable sources and energy
storage by the same year. However,
despite
these
commitments,
environmental groups see room
for improvement when it comes
to DTE and Consumers Energy’s
track records on clean energy,
taking issue in particular with the
utilities’ reliance on fossil fuels.
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The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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