Detroit, April 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE), Michigan's largest producer of renewable energy, is working with the National Football League (NFL) and local tourism non-profit Visit Detroit to help the 2024 NFL Draft become carbon neutral. By leveraging DTE's voluntary renewable energy programs, the NFL will create a more sustainable environment for the hundreds of thousands of visitors coming to Detroit, with positive impact for the local community.
DTE is helping reduce carbon emissions associated with the NFL Draft (April 25 – 27) by offsetting the carbon footprint of the energy used by the NFL for event production and operation, food and beverage preparation and consumption, merchandise sales, and the air and ground transportation for NFL employees and vendors. DTE is securing offsets to protect forests in northern Michigan that are sequestering carbon and may have otherwise been cut down. These are the same types of carbon offsets that DTE uses to reduce the carbon footprints for many of its customers enrolled in the company's voluntary Natural Gas Balance program. Overall, this will equate to taking 310 cars off the road for a year (146,500 gallons of gasoline) or the annual electricity use of nearly 260 homes.
"DTE is excited to leverage the benefits of our voluntary renewable energy programs to create a cleaner environment for the NFL Draft and Visit Detroit," said Tony Tomczak, vice president – Electric Sales and Marketing, DTE Energy. "We're thrilled that everyone involved shares DTE's vision for a cleaner energy future. Reducing the carbon footprint of the event is in perfect alignment with our own plans to help keep Michigan a great place for our future generations to call home."
The NFL Draft sustainability efforts will also include funding the enrollment of 40 local, income-qualified households in MIGreenPower, DTE's voluntary renewable energy program that supports the development of wind and solar parks in Michigan. These customers will be enrolled in the program's Community Support pilot for two years, which will attribute 100% of their electricity use to renewable energy.
"Detroit and the state of Michigan are sustainability innovation leaders, from building the first electric vehicle charging road to ensuring that events like the NFL Draft promote environmental stewardship for our community," said Claude Molinari, president and CEO, Visit Detroit. "Visit Detroit is grateful to the NFL, DTE, and other community partners for their work to make this year's Draft a model for sustainable events."
DTE's voluntary renewable energy programs are widely supported by DTE customers across the state. Nearly 100,000 of DTE's residential electric customers have enrolled in MIGreenPower, and more than 1,600 organizations – from small businesses to large industrial facilities – have also signed up to attribute their power use to renewable sources. Natural Gas Balance has empowered more than 13,000 households and nearly 60 organizations served by DTE to balance their natural gas usage by protecting trees in northern Michigan and supporting the use and development of renewable natural gas.
Not only is DTE helping customers and communities reduce their carbon footprints, but it also remains committed to its aggressive net zero carbon emissions goal. DTE's transformational CleanVision Integrated Resource Plan sets the framework to accelerate the company's goals to reach a 65% reduction in carbon emissions in 2028 and 90% by 2040, while also putting initiatives in place to help the State of Michigan meet its target of 65% renewable energy by 2035.
DTE customers can learn more about reducing their carbon footprints and supporting the development of Michigan-made renewable energy sources by visiting the MIGreenPower and Natural Gas Balance home pages online. Customers can also help their income-qualified neighbors join the journey to a cleaner energy future by contributing to the MIGreenPower Community Support program.
About DTE Energy
DTE Energy (NYSE:DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include an electric company serving 2.3 million customers in Southeast Michigan and a natural gas company serving 1.3 million customers across Michigan. The DTE portfolio also includes energy businesses focused on custom energy solutions, renewable energy generation, and energy marketing and trading. DTE has continued to accelerate its carbon reduction goals to meet aggressive targets and is committed to serving with its energy through volunteerism, education and employment initiatives, philanthropy, emission reductions and economic progress. Information about DTE is available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com/dteenergy.
Chris Lamphear DTE Energy 313.235.5555