Decarbonizing and Powering Communities

We’re power development and operation experts, but we also deliver hometown service. We’re thrilled to help make the metro Detroit community of Dearborn, Mich. – home to our Dearborn Industrial Generation plant – a better place to live, work and play.

“We’re focused on leaving a clean energy legacy for our customers and helping our communities thrive at the same time,” said Richard Mukhtar, Chief Operating Officer of NorthStar Clean Energy. “Our commitment to Michigan communities like Dearborn reflect our focus on powering progress – not just with clean energy, but also with our time, talents and dollars.”

Established in 1971, the Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services (ACCESS) is the largest Arab American community nonprofit organization in the United States and is among the most influential organizations in the metro Detroit community of Dearborn.

ACCESS offers services to people who come from underserved, low-income and immigrant communities, including basic social and legal services, medical care and health education, family counseling and mental health services, employment and training services, educational programs, youth academic and recreational programs, philanthropy and cultural arts programming. Eleven ACCESS locations and 500 employees offer about 120 programs serving more than 1.3 million people.

Employees of the Dearborn Industrial Generation plant, which NorthStar Clean Energy operates, have effectively adopted the organization as their own. The CMS Energy Foundation provided funds supporting the ACCESS to School program, a comprehensive, neighborhood-based approach to improving kindergarten readiness. ACCESS to School supports the entire family, offering activities to break the cycle of intergenerational illiteracy and low levels of adult education and academic achievement. The program serves Salina Elementary, located in a geographically isolated community surrounded by industry (including the Dearborn Industrial Generation plant) and with limited public transportation.

Previous support from NorthStar Clean Energy and/or the CMS Energy Foundation includes:

• A $25,000 grant supporting construction of the Arab American National Museum and Cultural Center in Dearborn.
• A $20,000 grant to support the purchase of vehicles to transport students to its afterschool programs.
• A $10,000 grant for a parent education and literacy program for nearby Salina School families.
• In-kind contributions of binders valued at $6,000.
• A $5,000 contribution to support an arts exhibition.
• Several annual contributions supporting the organization’s anniversary dinner.

“NorthStar Clean Energy and Dearborn Industrial Generation have been a part of the Dearborn community for more than 20 years,” said Brian Hartmann, President, NorthStar Clean Energy. “From charitable contributions to in-kind support for clothing drives, science fairs, musical performances and more, we’re glad to offer our time, talents and resources to an organization that understands the community’s needs and can do the most good.”

About NorthStar Clean Energy:

NorthStar Clean Energy helps companies with ambitious sustainability targets decarbonize through renewable energy solutions. Based in Michigan, NorthStar Clean Energy owns and operates over 1,500 megawatts of generating capacity nationwide —including solar installations in Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio, wind assets in Texas and Ohio, natural gas and co-generation facilities in Michigan, and biomass plants in Michigan and North Carolina— and has a development pipeline of 1 gigawatt of renewable energy. NorthStar Clean Energy plans to convert its only coal-fired power plant, the TES Filer City Station co-owned with Tondu Energy, to a 60 MW biomass-fueled plant capable of capturing 500,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide annually, one of the first bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (“BECCS”) projects under development in the United States. Founded in 1987, NorthStar Clean Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS).

Media Contact: 

Suzanne Vincent 
Marketing Director 
Suzanne.Vincent@nsce.com