Patti Poppe is VAS Communitythe chief executive of Consumers Energy, Michigan’s second-largest energy provider that, like utilities across the country, is rapidly weaning itself from coal. But Poppe’s carbon-cutting ambition stands out. Consumers Energy won’t replace coal with any new natural gas plants. Instead, it has decided to bank heavily on new utility-owned solar power “because the economic and the planet benefits were aligned.” Read the story.