ANN ARBOR, MI — Ann Arbor has secured a major federal grant for a renewable energy project city officials were worried may be at risk under the Trump administration.
“It is truly miraculous that this grant ultimately came through because we know of so many things that are not,” said Council Member Lisa Disch, D-1st Ward.
City Council voted unanimously and enthusiastically Monday night, Oct. 6, to accept nearly $10.8 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to bring a large-scale geothermal network to the Bryant neighborhood in southeast Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor’s Bryant neighborhood on Aug. 18, 2025. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News
“I am incredibly excited to see this project moving forward,” said Mayor Pro Tem Travis Radina, D-3rd Ward.
“Community geothermal in the Bryant neighborhood has the opportunity to serve not just as a giant step forward in our communitywide carbon-neutrality efforts, but also it can serve as a demonstration project for other projects throughout Ann Arbor and other communities throughout Michigan.”
Missy Stults, the city’s sustainability director, joined in celebrating the grant award, calling it momentous. Her office does a lot of grant work, but this is the one that made her jump up and down and get a little giddy, she said.
Working with experts and stakeholders, the city has come up with a geothermal system design capable of meeting the heating and cooling needs of residents of the socioeconomically diverse neighborhood, tapping into the earth’s renewable energy and shifting away from burning fossil fuels.
Ann Arbor’s Bryant neighborhood on Aug. 18, 2025. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News
When stacked with energy efficiency and other renewable energy work being done, the system will be capable of reducing energy usage and associated costs for Bryant residents by over 70%, the city estimates.
The city was initially awarded $10 million for the initiative at the tail end of the Biden administration, but city officials said earlier this year the funding may be at risk under Trump and months went by with no updates from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The city’s sustainability office restarted grant negotiations with the feds and submitted updated paperwork recently, and now the grant award is unexpectedly even larger.
The updates were accepted by the U.S. Department of Energy and a final grant agreement was shared with the city in late September, Stults said.
The city is required to provide at least a 50% match. Given the parameters, the city submitted a package totaling an estimated $22.1 million for a well field, pump house and installation of geothermal in over 100 households, Stults said.
That means the city will need to secure additional capital to cover the remaining project costs, which is the first task in the city’s proposed work plan, she said.
Solar panels on the Bryant Community Center in Ann Arbor’s Bryant neighborhood on Aug. 18, 2025. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News
The project is rooted in equity, serving one of Ann Arbor’s most diverse and affordable neighborhoods, Radina said. In addition to helping reduce energy bills and greenhouse gas emissions, it reduces indoor air pollution by shifting away from gas appliances, which should improve resident health, he said.
The city is partnering on the Bryant project with the nonprofit Community Action Network.
Stults expressed gratitude to City Council for trusting in the project, saying what was a twinkle in their eyes four years ago is coming to fruition and Bryant is going to be the first existing neighborhood in the U.S. to achieve carbon-neutrality.
Council Member Ayesha Ghazi Edwin, D-3rd Ward, said it’s incredible and it’s making it possible for people irrespective of income to participate in the fight against climate change.
“And it takes an enormous amount of courage to pioneer a new energy technology, and the Bryant neighborhood is doing that for this city,” Disch said, giving credit to project liaisons who’ve gone door to door, getting residents to embrace it.
“It’s amazing, people are getting on board,” Disch said. “This is not easy. And I love it that we got this money, because it will make so many dreams come true.”
Solar panels on a house in Ann Arbor’s Bryant neighborhood on Aug. 18, 2025. (Ryan Stanton | MLive.com)Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News
The Bryant geothermal system is expected to become an asset of the new sustainable energy utility the city is launching.
Mayor Christopher Taylor credited city voters for supporting the city’s climate action millage and sustainable energy utility.
“Without those commitments from our community as a whole, we would not be in a position to accomplish something that, when the switch is thrown, should be front-page news everywhere,” he said of decarbonizing the Bryant neighborhood.
He’s also excited about the federal grant, saying it puts the city on a straight road to accomplish its goals for the neighborhood.
“With this help, we’re going to be able to do great things for our residents and serve as an exemplar of government that’s doing good work for its community,” he said.
Council voted to approve a $1.8 million contract with IMEG Consultants Corp., plus a $182,163 contingency budget, for continued work on professional engineering, design and advisory services for the geothermal project. Council also approved putting $150,000 toward a community engagement process for it to be led by the Community Action Network and $560,000 for workforce development efforts through the United Association Local 190, a plumbers and pipefitters union, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 252.
As the city shifts to technology like geothermal to replace gas, it’s important to support workers who’ve been doing the work to heat the community for decades and transition their skills, said Council Member Jen Eyer, D-4th Ward.
“And so this part of it is really important in that sense, making sure that we have what we call a just transition,” she said, “so that we’re not leaving the workers that we have relied on for so many years behind, but making sure that we are helping bring them along and train them for future jobs.”
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