DTE Energy announced April 5 it has commissioned a new solar array at the Ford Research & Engineering Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The 2,159-panel array is located on the rooftop level of the Deck 400 parking structure. The array includes an integrated battery storage system and will be used to power newly installed electric vehicle (EV) chargers. The solar array can generate 1,127 megawatt hours of clean energy, which has the environmental benefit equal to the carbon sequestered by nearly 980 acres of U.S. forests in one year (avoided emissions and equivalencies are based on the Environmental Protection Agency equivalencies calculator here).

The new solar array is just one of several steps both companies are taking to reduce carbon emissions. In 2019, Ford became the first corporate customer to enroll in DTE’s MIGreenPower voluntary renewable energy program. Through the program, Ford is purchasing 525,000 megawatt hours annually of Michigan wind energy from DTE’s Isabella and Fairbanks wind parks.

DTE is Michigan’s largest producer of renewable energy. The company’s 18 wind parks and 32 solar arrays generate enough clean energy to power 670,000 Michigan homes. Through its MIGreenPower program, the company offers customers the opportunity to attribute up to 100% of their energy use to the company’s wind and solar projects.

As DTE works to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the company plans to continue adding clean energy projects to its portfolio. DTE plans to double its generation capacity from wind and solar by 2023 with the addition of one new wind park and five large solar installations. By the end of 2023, DTE’s renewable energy portfolio will include more than 2.2 million solar panels.