City of Madison Heights helps bring federal dollars to the area for Infrastructure and Removing Barriers to Clean Energy Deployment

Madison Heights, MI, April 9th, 2024 —Today, the U.S. Department of Energy announced $27 million in financial and technical assistance awarded to 40 partner teams of states, local governments, and Tribes through the Energy Futures Grants (EFG) Program in support of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and the historic Justice40 Initiative.

The City of Madison Heights was the lead application and worked with Energy Sciences to collaborate with the City of Ferndale, City of Oak Park, Lamphere School District, Michigan Clean Cities, and Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance that was awarded $500,000 for the creation of a regional decarbonization plan.

Energy Future Grants provides financial and technical assistance to support multijurisdictional partnership efforts to advance innovative clean energy programs that will enhance energy affordability, access, and opportunities for our communities and the southeast Michigan region. Each partner has a commitment to sustainability but is at a different stage in their journey to decarbonize their operations and communities. Working together to develop a Regional Decarbonization Plan will allow us to share and leverage information, experiences, and expertise. This plan will create a path to fleet and mobility transformation and building energy performance improvement, with a strong focus on community engagement and education, influencing regional decreases in GHG emissions and spurring economic activity and job growth in the area. This plan will enable the city and our partners to improve building energy performance, work toward electrification of the built environment, and upgrade our fleets, and adapt our infrastructure to embrace electrification and decarbonization.

The immediate benefits of the Plan include the communities of Madison Heights, Oak Park, Ferndale, and Lamphere School district, which serves a portion of Madison Heights and a small section of Troy. “We are poised to enhance services to our communities by reducing expenses related to energy waste,” said Madison Heights City Manager Melissa Marsh. The effects of this plan will extend far beyond our community boundaries. “By reducing GHG emission, this plan will contribute to improved air quality in the region.”

According to Madison Heights Mayor Roslyn Grafstein, “Ultimately, the plan’s implementation will stimulate increased economic activity and foster the growth of clean energy jobs in the region. Visit the DOE webpage to learn more about the EFG Program.

Visit the DOE webpage to learn more about the EFG Program.