News Release

Consumers Energy Sets Goals for Smart Energy District in Jackson, Including 40 Percent On-Site Renewable Energy

Jackson, Mich. Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Jackson Smart Energy District Aims to Achieve 2040 Clean Energy Targets 15 to 20 Years Early 

Consumers Energy today announced its goals for the Jackson Smart Energy District, an efficient, affordable, clean energy hub in its hometown. The Jackson Smart Energy District aims to achieve 2040 Clean Energy goals 15 to 20 years early -- including producing 40 percent of the District’s energy needs from on-site renewable sources.

“Consumers Energy is excited to promote economic development in our backyard and to highlight Jackson as a hub for innovation in our industry,” said Patti Poppe, Consumers Energy’s president and CEO. “We’re moving forward today with plans that will make Jackson an even more attractive place to live, work and innovate, and provide a picture of the energy future that will transform our entire state.”

The energy provider’s goals for the Jackson Smart Energy District – a four-square-block area near the Consumers Energy headquarters – are the same as the Company’s. Consumers Energy will work with private businesses and the city to reduce the Jackson Smart Energy District’s carbon emissions by 90 percent and provide 40 percent of its energy from on-site renewable sources such as solar panels and with advanced energy efficiency technologies.

Consumers Energy is putting out a Request for Information nationally to attract the best ideas from entrepreneurial and high tech companies that can provide the next generation of energy solutions here in our hometown.

“We want to connect with the companies, technologies, business models and innovative solutions that will meet our community’s energy needs,” Poppe said. “We are striving to provide clean energy and to put Jackson, Michigan on the map as a magnet for energy innovation and the top ideas in the world.”

Ideas for the Smart Energy District may include solar panels, battery storage, energy efficiency, energy management and electric vehicle charging stations.

The district is bordered by Louis Glick Highway, Michigan Avenue and Blackstone and Jackson streets, and it is home to several private development projects that have been announced or are in the works.

Consumers Energy is working to modernize Michigan’s electric grid and develop clean energy across the state. The company recently dedicated Michigan’s first rooftop solar array and battery storage system in the Circuit West energy district of Grand Rapids.

Consumers Energy, Michigan’s largest energy provider, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.7 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

Media Contacts: Brian Wheeler, 517-788-2394, or Katie Carey, 517-788-2395