5 Lakes Energy

Name

5 Lakes Energy

Legal name

5 Lakes Energy LLC

Website

https://5lakesenergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lansing

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting services for utility regulation and ratemaking, policy research and analysis, energy modeling, and project planning. Serves nonprofits, businesses, and government agencies in clean energy and climate solutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

5 Lakes Energy is a clean energy consulting firm that helps nonprofit, business, and government leaders achieve clean-energy solutions and protect consumers. The firm delivers expert witness testimony in utility regulatory proceedings, policy research and strategy, quantitative energy modeling, project planning, and grant support for communities. Its practice is anchored in the Great Lakes region with deep expertise in Michigan's regulatory environment.

Product overview

5 Lakes Energy is a consulting firm offering a portfolio of advisory services and digital tools for clean energy policy and climate solutions. The firm's core service offerings include expert witness testimony in utility regulatory proceedings, policy research and analysis, energy modeling and quantitative analysis, energy project planning, and grant support for communities. These services are complemented by three named digital tools: the Michigan Building Efficiency and Electrification Cost-Benefit Analysis Toolkit (a web-based building energy evaluation tool), the Electric Reliability in Michigan Tool (an ArcGIS-based outage data visualization tool), and the Michigan Spark Gap Online Tool (an interactive spark gap analysis tool). The firm primarily serves nonprofit organizations, businesses, and government agencies in the Great Lakes region seeking to advance climate and clean-energy goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Expert Witness Testimony Services Expert witness testimony in regulatory cases before utility regulatory commissions, covering utility rate cases, integrated resource plans, energy waste reduction plans, and power supply and gas cost recovery cases for public and public-interest clients.
• Policy Research, Analysis and Strategy Services Advisory services helping clients design state and local energy and climate policies and programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support vulnerable communities and ratepayers, and advance economic progress and equity.
• Energy Modeling, Quantitative and Technical Analysis Services Custom analytical software and quantitative methods to help clients identify the quickest and most cost-effective pathways to decarbonize, electrify, and achieve just energy transitions, including utility planning, CHP, storage, and electrification modeling.
• Energy Project Planning Services Advisory engagement helping clients assess technical, regulatory, financial, legal, and social factors to identify the best clean energy project options, including RFP management, owner representation services, and grant writing assistance for accessing federal dollars.
• Grant Support Services Free assistance to local and Tribal governments and community organizations to submit high-quality, competitive applications for climate and clean-energy grants, including navigation assistance, grant writing support, administrative assistance, modeling and data analysis, and project and strategy development.
• Michigan Building Efficiency and Electrification Cost-Benefit Analysis Toolkit A free web-based toolkit that allows Michigan communities and property owners to enter basic information about buildings and select from an array of potential clean-energy measures (improving insulation, replacing fossil-fuel HVAC, installing solar panels, etc.), then estimates costs and benefits including utility bill changes, GHG emissions, and public health outcomes using industry-standard datasets.
• Electric Reliability in Michigan Tool A free ArcGIS StoryMaps-based tool providing a spatial view of utility outage data from DTE Energy and Consumers Energy between June 2023 and June 2025, including distribution system reliability metrics such as CAIDI, SAIFI, and SAIDI, aimed at helping local Michigan leaders assess outage impacts on their communities.
• Michigan Spark Gap Online Tool An interactive online tool accompanying the spark gap white paper that models how different rates of load growth in various areas can affect Michigan's spark gap, the ratio between electricity prices and gas prices per unit of energy that determines when electrification becomes cost-effective for residential customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Recommended disallowing $92 million in DTEE's requested revenue increase
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Michigan Energy Innovation Business CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-authored The Michigan Clean Energy Framework report with support from Rocky Mountain Institute, modeling future scenarios for Michigan's clean energy policies
• Rocky Mountain InstitutesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided support and advice for The Michigan Clean Energy Framework report analyzing economic implications of Michigan decarbonization policies
• Great Plains InstitutesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupported Net-Zero Industry in Minnesota report development
• Fresh EnergysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with 5 Lakes Energy on Net-Zero Industry in Minnesota report
• Natural Resources Research InstitutesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on Net-Zero Industry in Minnesota report
• Indiana University Environmental Resilience InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-prepared Jobs in the Balance report assessing clean steel transition for Northwest Indiana
• Institute for Energy InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-authored Energy Storage Roadmap for Michigan with Michigan State University
• Michigan State UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Professor Annick Anctil on Energy Storage Roadmap for Michigan
• Council of the Great Lakes RegionsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrepared Powering Forward report for the Council analyzing binational Great Lakes Region clean energy transition benefits
• U.S. Department of EnergysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded hydrogen potential study for Minnesota through DOE grant
• Evergreen CollaborativesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrepared Michigan Clean Energy Framework report for the Evergreen Collaborative

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Synapse Energy Economics: Cambridge, MA-based energy economics consultancy providing expert witness testimony, regulatory analysis, and policy research for consumer advocates and environmental NGOs — a near-identical service model to 5 Lakes Energy. Synapse is the firm where Senior Consultant Matt Bandyk previously worked as a Principal Associate.
• Rocky Mountain Institute: Independent energy think tank that co-developed The Michigan Clean Energy Framework report with 5 Lakes Energy. Operates a similar model of clean-energy research, policy analysis, and state-level decarbonization advisory work for utilities, governments, and philanthropies.
• Great Plains Institute: Minneapolis-based non-profit working on energy and industrial decarbonization in the Upper Midwest, partnered with 5 Lakes Energy on the Net-Zero Industry in Minnesota report. Comparable regional policy-research-and-coalition model with overlap on Minnesota energy work.
• Fresh Energy: Minnesota-focused clean energy policy and advocacy organization that co-authored the Net-Zero Industry in Minnesota report with 5 Lakes Energy. Shares the same Great Lakes/Midwest state-policy niche, though Fresh Energy is more advocacy-led while 5 Lakes is consulting-led.
• Energy Innovation: National clean-energy policy research and advisory firm producing state-level decarbonization analyses, similar in scope and methodology to 5 Lakes' Michigan Clean Energy Framework and Jobs in the Balance work.
• VEIC (Vermont Energy Investment Corporation): Non-profit energy efficiency and clean-energy consultancy providing policy, program design, and consulting services to utilities and state agencies — comparable scope to 5 Lakes' buildings/transportation, energy efficiency, and regulatory work.
• Grid Strategies: Specialized consulting firm focused on transmission planning, FERC proceedings, and grid economics — highly comparable to 5 Lakes' MISO Tranche 2.1 transmission economic analysis (April 2026 publication) and power-sector regulatory work.

Broad incumbents

• ICF International: Large publicly traded consulting firm with a deep energy and climate practice covering utility regulation, energy modeling, and policy advisory — competes for the same RFPs as 5 Lakes but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Cadmus: Large consulting firm with a dedicated energy practice serving utilities, governments, and NGOs on policy, regulatory, and efficiency programs. Overlaps with 5 Lakes on energy efficiency, building electrification, and utility client work.

Others

• Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council (Michigan EIBC): Michigan clean-energy business trade association that co-authored the Michigan Clean Energy Framework with 5 Lakes Energy and Rocky Mountain Institute. Adjacent — not a direct competitor — but closely aligned ecosystem participant in Michigan's clean-energy policy work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5-lakes-energy/about
• Xx.com/5leindustrynews

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 5 Lakes Energy