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Ann Arbor, Mich., has an aggressive goal of net-zero emissions by 2030, and it is taking its desire for clean power into its own hands.

The City Council this week approved plans to create a sustainable energy utility, or S.E.U., which is an organization that helps local residents use less energy.

Traditional S.E.U.s, which have grown increasingly popular in recent years, mostly focus on helping customers get rebates or make energy-efficiency upgrades. But Ann Arbor’s plans go further. The city wants to stand up its own solar and geothermal power facilities, with the ultimate aim of building microgrids that can operate on their own, particularly when the traditional electricity grid goes down.

In a local power grid, fallen trees can cause outages. “When you have less of that, you have a less vulnerable system,” said Missy Stults, Ann Arbor’s director of sustainability and innovations, noting that the area’s grid was old and not that clean.