The Lansing Board of Water & Light (BWL) recently released its new plan to guide future operations, which calls for increasing the Michigan public power utility’s use of renewable energy and reducing energy waste, with the goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040.
The BWL’s new integrated resource plan (IRP) was developed over the past year with input and comments provided at 18 stakeholder meetings, five public meetings held throughout the BWL’s service territory, promoted on the utility’s social media channels, and through a survey of 400 residential and 300 business customers.
“The plan maintains the BWL’s ability to provide reliable and affordable power to customers while moving the BWL to become Michigan’s cleanest electric utility by increasing and accelerating the company’s use of renewable energy and seeking carbon neutrality sooner,” the utility noted.
The new plan builds on the BWL’s previous IRP plans.
In the 2016 IRP, the BWL pledged to end all use of coal in its power plants – a goal that will soon be achieved – and to deliver 40 percent of its power from renewable sources and energy efficiency programs by 2030.
Under the new IRP, the BWL will seek to deliver 50 percent of its power from clean energy sources in 2030 and to be a carbon neutral utility by 2040.
The IRP findings will be used to develop a new BWL strategic plan, to be presented to the Board of Commissioners for approval later this year.
The full IRP is available at www.lbwl.com/IRP2020.
