Detroit City Council moves forward with phase one of Neighborhood Solar Initiative
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Detroit City Council voted Tuesday to approve phase one of the city's plan to install solar panels on large plots of vacant land.
The measures that cleared the council include establishing a solar equity fund, approving funds for solar panel technology, acquiring more private land for the project, and increasing money to assist with relocating homeowners currently living in the areas selected for the solar farms.
The measures passed unanimously over objections from council president Mary Sheffield, as well as councilmembers Gabriela Santiago-Romero and Angela Whitfield-Calloway.
The Neighborhood Solar Initiative has been on the council agenda for weeks amid intense discussions and public comments about the benefits a community power plan would have for Detroit.
"When we think about building a better future for the generation behind us, this solar initiative is only the start," one citizen said during the public comment period.
The three sites selected for solar farms includes the neighborhood at Van Dyke-Lynch, Gratiot and Findlay, and State Fair which is between Woodward and John R. Once complete, the three arrays would generate 21 megawatts of power.
The goal is to offset 100% of city energy usage with renewable sources.
But a number of hurdles stand in the way of it becoming reality, including convincing those who still live in the selected neighborhoods to move somewhere else.
One solution is the Solar Equity Fund, a resource that allows the city to move forward with converting blighted neighborhoods into solar energy farms. Phase one of this plan includes buying out homeowners and setting up solar farms across 103 acres in the three selected neighborhoods.
Five neighborhoods are still waiting to see if they were chosen for phase two, which will not take place until 2026.
It is estimated that the fund requires $4.4 million, which will be paid with reserves from a separate energy-related fund controlled by the city.
According to the resolution authored by council member Fred Durhal III, the money will go towards "costs related to demolition and other costs of site preparation, costs related to property acquisition, legal, appraisal, survey, and title costs, and other costs associated with the development and implementation of the Solar Project within Prospective Solar Project Sites."
Two of the line items dealt with contracts between DTE Electric and Lightstar Renewables, firms that would enter 35-year agreements with the city.
More information on the different phases can be found at Solar Neighborhoods | City of Detroit (detroitmi.gov).
Residents say City Council is holding up solar panel farm plans for Detroit neighborhood
"The community has already reached our resolution," Burton said. "We are 100 percent approving this here."