Sarah Mills

Sarah Mills is an associate professor of practice as well as the director of the Center for EmPowering Communities at UM’s Graham Sustainability Institute. She conducts research at the intersection of energy policy and land use planning–especially in rural communities. Her current work focuses on how renewable energy development impacts rural communities (positively and negatively), the disparate reactions of rural landowners to wind and solar projects, and how state and local policies facilitate or hinder renewable energy deployment.  Sarah is currently working on DOE-funded research projects understanding the adoption of solar zoning ordinances, the economic impacts of solar on agricultural communities, and conducting a nationwide survey of solar farm neighbors. Through a grant from Michigan’s State Energy Office, she also helps communities in incorporating clean energy in their planning and zoning.

She teaches URP 620 Energy Planning, as well as the UPR 603 Capstone Studios with a focus on renewable energy.

Sarah received her doctorate in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan, where her dissertation looked at the intersection of farmland preservation and wind energy development. She has a master’s in engineering for sustainable development from the University of Cambridge, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Villanova University. Sarah also serves on the City of Ann Arbor Planning Commission.sarahbanasmills