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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