General Motors Announces Two Solar Projects With 300 Megawatts in Michigan
Key Facts
General Motors announced on November 12 two solar projects in Michigan with combined capacity of 300 megawatts, which it said represent its largest clean energy project announcement to date. The company allocated 92% of the capacity to support its operational needs, while NorthStar Clean Energy will develop both projects. GM will be the primary customer under a virtual power purchase agreement, linking the company to the projects’ electricity output without making it the developer. The company said its renewable energy investments help meet the electricity demand of its operations. It added that they give it greater ability to predict a significant operating expense.
One project is in Branch County and is a utility-scale solar facility, while the Lake Iris solar project is in St. Clair County. The two projects combine sites in Michigan under a single virtual power purchase agreement, and NorthStar Clean Energy is developing both. This structure makes GM the primary customer without assigning it responsibility for project development or plant operations. The company’s allocated capacity is 92% of the total 300 megawatts, according to its announcement. The announcement reflects the company’s reliance on renewable electricity purchases to cover part of the needs of its manufacturing sites.
GM estimates the two projects will produce about 539,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually, an amount it said is equivalent to the consumption of about 52,000 homes. The expected output also equals the combined annual electricity consumption of the Factory ZERO, Flint Assembly and Lansing Delta Township Assembly plants. That directly links the projects to three of the company’s manufacturing sites in the state, rather than limiting their impact to general grid supply. The company says renewable energy investments support the electricity demand of its operations. According to GM, these investments are tied to a greater ability to predict a significant operating cost.
The move comes as Michigan imposes rising standards on electricity providers: the share of renewable energy in their retail supply portfolios must reach 50% during 2030–2034, then 60% starting in 2035. These are targets for the state and electricity providers, not a share allocated to GM’s project. In 2023, solar accounted for 18% of Michigan’s renewable power generation, compared with 67% for wind, according to the state Public Service Commission. The figures show that wind was the largest source of renewable generation at the time, while solar continued to grow. The company’s project comes amid the state’s expansion of renewable energy sources.
Michigan’s distributed generation program capacity rose to 222.4 megawatts in 2024, from 189.6 megawatts in 2023, an increase of more than 17%, according to the Public Service Commission. More broadly, the total capacity of renewable energy projects approved for utilities regulated by the commission reached 7,580 megawatts as of December 31, 2025, up 22% from the end of 2024. The figures point to growth in renewable energy activity across multiple programs and projects, but measure different scopes: distributed generation and projects approved for regulated utilities. GM’s project, meanwhile, focuses on meeting electricity needs tied to specific manufacturing operations. Targeting the company’s three plants provides a practical benchmark for comparing the projects’ output with its industrial consumption.
Michigan’s Clean Energy Act sets a target of 80% of the energy portfolio from clean energy by 2035, rising to 100% by 2040. Electricity companies must submit their plans to the Public Service Commission by 2028, according to the commission. These deadlines provide a long-term regulatory framework for the state’s electricity supply transition, while GM’s project addresses the company’s needs through a virtual power purchase agreement. The project announcement did not specify when production would begin or provide additional construction details. The state-level regulatory targets remain separate from the share of the two projects’ capacity that the company allocated to itself.