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3 new Detroit neighborhood solar arrays underway to fight blight, climate change
Last year the city began it’s search for neighborhoods interested in removing blight by installing solar fields. Out of the eight finalists, three neighborhoods were chosen.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Detroit City Council approved the second part of the mayor's neighborhood solar plan during its weekly meeting on Tuesday.
The contracts with DTE and Lightstar to build the solar fields include neighborhoods at Greenfield Park and Houston-Whittier/Hayes. Councilmember Angela Whitfield-Calloway was the only vote against the motion.
Over the past several months, Detroit has worked to thread the needle of acquiring city land to build solar panels to help power government buildings.
It has included intense debate about how to purchase land where residents currently live, how best to engage neighborhood groups where the arrays are selected to go up, and the legality of using the space for generating energy.
Amid concerns about losing federal funding, councilmembers are seeking to fast track the second phase of the project, which involves the Greenfield Park and Houston-Whittier/Hayes neighborhoods.
As It Stands:
While the city has approved plans to build solar panels in Detroit, its legal team is still working to acquire the necessary land to build the arrays.
Conrad Mallett, the city's legal counsel, said it had obtained 965 parcels of land, including helping relocate over 150 different homeowners. He told the council the city was only involved in two lawsuits from homeowners who claim the process is illegitimate.
"A remarkably successful endeavor from a litigation standpoint," he said.
Trisha Stein, who works with Duggan, said they were on track to demolish 90 structures by March. Over the summer, crews are expected to clear land for the arrays and panels will start getting installed in the fall.
She added that 156 homes would also receive energy efficiency upgrades, which are part of the community benefits agreement struck between affected homeowners and the city.
Dig deeper:
Since proposing the solar field initiative, Detroit's outgoing mayor has touted the project as a means of turning vacant land into productive city property.
Detroit is leveraging federal funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to pay for the solar arrays. But the incoming Republican administration is making city officials and Mike Duggan nervous after President-elect Donald Trump promised to roll back the IRA.
On Monday, Duggan's team urged the city council to fast track phase two of the initiative, which would add another 61 acres of land and generate almost 10 megawatts of power.
The backstory:
Detroit has taken a novel approach to energy, proposing large solar farms on vacant land in its neighborhoods to power governmental buildings.
The Neighborhood Solar Initiative seeks to power 100% of the city's 127 municipal buildings using 33 megawatts of energy generated across 165 acres of open land.
The council approved phase one of the initiative in July, which included more than 100 acres across three neighborhoods: Gratiot-Findlay, Van Dyke/Lynch, and State Fair.
Renderings of what each neighborhood's solar arrays look like were unveiled in December.
Two companies, Lightstar Renewables out of Boston, and DTE out of Detroit, were selected to construct the fields.
Funding for the solar arrays is from a federal stimulus plan that aims to boost climate-related projects. The operation costs of the arrays is $8.3 million while the city would save $6.6 million on energy.