City of Detroit Reveals Final Concepts for Solar Arrays in 3 Neighborhoods
Detroit shared its plans for solar installations across three neighborhoods on Thursday, Dec. 19. The bold clean energy project will target the Gratiot-Findlay, Van Dyke-Lynch, and State Fair neighborhoods.
Launched in 2023, the program aims to generate clean energy to offset electricity usage across 127 municipal buildings. The project’s first phase covers approximately 100 acres and includes 21 owner-occupied properties. All property owners agreed to sell their homes and relocate. Homeowners received compensation for their properties at double their market value, a minimum of $90,000, plus moving expenses.
Renters received 18 months’ rent, plus moving and relocation expenses. The project also supports energy efficiency upgrades valued at an average of $15,000 for surrounding properties.
Detroit Department of Neighborhoods Director Ray Solomon revealed that the neighborhoods would feature buffers, including decorative fencing, ornamental trees, perennial gardens, urban agriculture, and manicured meadows within the solar array. Neighborhood residents selected the plant material and worked collaboratively on the designs.
The Gratiot-Findlay and State Fair neighborhoods selected designs that support growing vegetables on the same land below the solar field.
“We had 19 neighborhoods come forward, and we had three winners, and we said to those neighborhoods, ‘We are only going to build solar fields where every single homeowner in that area voluntarily agrees,'” Mayor Mike Duggan said at a news conference covered by the Detroit Free Press. “And the next thing I said is, ‘We are not going forward unless each of these neighborhood associations signs off on a neighborhood agreement with the design of the solar fields that they want.’ This has been a neighbor-driven project from the beginning.”
Construction will start in spring 2025, contingent on complete land clearance. When installed, the solar arrays are expected to generate 33 megawatts of solar energy, with 21 megawatts produced during the initial phase, according to the city’s estimates.
