DETROIT, March 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- DTE Energy is
turning Little Caesars Arena (LCA) "green" by providing renewable
energy for the Detroit Red Wings' five home games played in March,
reducing LCA's carbon footprint for NHL "Green Month."
Designating March as "Green Month" is part of NHL Green, a
league-wide initiative to address major environmental challenges -
like climate change – and to encourage stadiums, hockey teams and
fans to reduce waste, recycle and live more sustainably. The Red
Wings have also designated the March
8th game versus the Vegas Golden Knights as
"Green Night" when DTE will serve as the evening's presenting
sponsor through its MIGreenPower voluntary renewable energy
program.
"The Red Wings, like many of our customers, are looking for ways
to minimize their environmental impact," said Irene Dimitry, vice president of Business
Planning and Development. "As a company, we know we can play an
active, critical role in reducing impacts to our environment –
especially climate change. We've started work on our own long-term
plan to reduce carbon emissions by more than 80 percent by 2050,
and renewable, cleaner energy plays a significant role in meeting
this goal."
Before LCA opened, DTE built a new substation, along with a
customized underground electrical system, to power the multi-use
facility and its high-tech entertainment features. The arena's
state-of-the-art electrical system allows arena staff to monitor
the venue's energy load and reroute power as needed. Among its many
energy saving features, the arena has more than 16.5 million LED
lights.
DTE launched MIGreenPower in April
2017 to provide customers with an easy and affordable way to
support more renewable energy. Customers who join MIGreenPower can
reduce their electricity-based carbon footprint and attribute up to
100 percent of their energy use to DTE's newest renewable energy
projects in Michigan, including
the Pinnebog Wind Park, located in Huron
County, and three solar arrays located in Detroit and Lapeer. The program is open to all DTE full
service business and residential electric customers.
The first 5,000 fans entering the arena on March 8th will receive a Red
Wings/MIGreenPower t-shirt. Fans who are DTE customers will have an
opportunity to sign up for the MIGreenPower program by visiting the
DTE Energy information booth located at Little Caesars Arena in the
Via area of the concourse that evening as well as home games on
Tuesday, March 20th,
Thursday, March 22nd and
Saturday, March 31st.
As part of DTE's carbon reduction initiative, the company plans
to add 4,000 megawatts of renewable energy to its power capacity,
including the Pine River wind park. Located in mid-Michigan, Pine River will be DTE's largest and
most cost-effective wind project to date and the company's first
since the passage of Michigan's
new energy legislation requiring energy providers to achieve a
renewable portfolio standard of 12.5 percent by 2019 and 15 percent
by 2021. DTE has plans to increase its wind generation capacity by
adding another project in early 2020 and is well-positioned to
exceed the state's 2021 target while maintaining reliability and
affordability for its 2.2 million electric customers.
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 utility serving 2.2 million customers in
Southeastern Michigan and a
natural gas utility serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan. The DTE Energy portfolio includes
non-utility energy businesses focused on power and industrial
projects, natural gas pipelines, gathering and storage, and energy
marketing and trading. As one of Michigan's leading corporate citizens, DTE
Energy is a force for growth and prosperity in the 450 Michigan
communities it serves in a variety of ways, including philanthropy,
volunteerism and economic progress. Information about DTE Energy is
available at dteenergy.com, empoweringmichigan.com,
twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com/dteenergy.
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SOURCE DTE Energy