Mike Duggan selects 3 neighborhoods to install solar panels

As part of the city’s latest efforts to combat climate change, three Detroit neighborhoods have been selected to host solar panels.

Mayor Mike Duggan announced that the Gratiot-Findlay, Van Dyke-Lynch and State Fair districts are participating in the first phase of Detroit’s solar district initiative, announced by the city last year, aimed at generating clean energy to offset household electricity use. all 127 communes Buildings.

“Today, Detroit is stepping into a major national leadership role in the fight against climate change,” Duggan said Monday, adding: “Currently, the city’s 127 buildings are powered by 33 megawatts of energy annually from traditional sources, mostly fossil fuels. Over the next two years, we will build photovoltaic fields that will effectively produce these 33 megawatts of energy in the form of renewable energy, we generate all the energy for city buildings from solar fields. We do this while also helping neighborhoods that feel like they have been forgotten.”

The first phase of the development covers 100 acres of land with 21 owner-occupied homes. The owners signed an agreement to sell their homes and relocate in exchange for $90,000.

Evicted tenants will receive 18 months of free rent

“These are the most damaged areas of the city,” Duggan said. “We are not pushing a single owner-occupied homeowner out of these neighborhoods to build solar fields.”

Tenants will also see benefits.

“If you are a tenant, we will give you money to move in and 18 months of free rent,” Duggan said. “If you own property or have vacant lots, we will pay for your fair market value. We have sent documents to the City Council asking us to present a condemnation. These people will be treated fairly, but there will be over 900 plots of land that we will have to acquire in the first phase… the people who owned the empty houses, and the owners, deserve fair respect, but they do not deserve to get rich in a district that was in largely abandoned.”

On Friday, Duggan presented council with proposals to continue construction of 104 acres of solar fields in the first three districts, beginning the process of acquiring land, providing community benefits to nearby residents and installing the solar fields. In early 2025, the administration will recommend three more districts from the first eight finalists Duggan narrowed down last year and develop 200 acres to provide 33 megawatts of energy.

How neighbors of solar fields will help

There are 159 owner-occupied homes around the sunny districts. Homeowners will receive a variety of home improvements ranging from $15,000 to $25,000 including: windows, roof repairs, residential solar panels, energy efficient appliances, home insulation and air sealing, energy efficient furnaces and water heaters, smart thermostats, efficient lighting or battery powered.

Among them is Patricia Kobylski of the Gratiot/Findlay neighborhood, who will be looking for energy-efficient siding on her home to reduce her heating bills.

“I painted this house twice myself, but I’m 78 years old. I can’t paint it anymore, so I just have to wash off this energy-saving vinyl siding. I don’t need a new furnace, I don’t need a hot water boiler, the windows are in good condition,” Kobylski said. “I don’t want to sell. I have a great house and good neighbors. I have no reason to sell, and who will give an almost 80-year-old woman a 30-year mortgage? Nobody. And I don’t want to move to the suburbs. That’s where I need to be.”

Jean Holt, who raised a family and lived in the State Fair District for 53 years, remembers a vibrant neighborhood full of shops, families and children, and a neighborhood full of opportunities. However, over time the situation worsened, she added.

“There is nothing left in the area that would be suitable for living. Everything was burned, fell down, overgrown, people left garbage everywhere. This place has become a landfill,” Holt said. “People started moving out. “Young people were leaving the city as they grew up, not just the neighborhood, the city, so there was less occupancy in those areas.”

Holt added that she is more than willing to make the move and that the solar fields will benefit Detroit residents.

“We need more energy. We need more power. Mine went out when my kids were about 2 months old I think, and I didn’t like it when it was cold. Not at all. It’s a terrible feeling. So I think that would be, given all the burning of electronics and energy, I think it will be an opportunity for them and future generations, and also for those who currently live in the neighborhoods who want to stay in these areas,” he said Holt.

Two programmers were selected

The city will retain ownership of the land and rent it to developers. Detroit has selected Boston-based Lightstar in the first phase to build 63 acres of solar fields in the Gratiot-Findlay and State Fair neighborhoods. DTE Electric Company will build a 40-acre field in Van Dyke-Lynch. Duggan said he is looking for developers who have experience building solar fields.

The installations will beautify city neighborhoods, and the benefits to the surrounding community from energy-efficient upgrades will help reduce energy bills by 10-20%, said Councilor Coleman Young II.

“That’s good because the best thing people can do with their lives is something that will outlive us. “What we build today and the impact it will have on the environment, the education and jobs it will have, the energy savings that people will save in the long run, that’s a legacy that will last a lifetime,” Young said.

Project financing

Duggan plans to use $14 million from the city’s utility conversion fund, which by law must be used for energy conversion. The fund was established when the city had its own power system, and the $14 million will cover the initial costs of acquiring and clearing the land.

The mayor also praised President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act for allowing the city to take on a project it previously couldn’t financially justify.

“When President Biden passed this bill in 2022, it became possible. Previously, there were no financial resources for this. But what the president and the country have done is that now all of these costs are reduced by 30%,” Duggan said.

Net operating costs are expected to reach $1.1 million annually. The city currently spends nearly $2.4 million a year in three boroughs to combat illegal dumping and garbage collection, mowing and maintaining overgrown lots and abandoned homes, police and fire departments, street maintenance, building inspections and enforcement, and the creation of stormwater catchments. .

“One of the things I thought about coming here was my children,” said Councilman Fred Durhal. “Investing in an environment where they can have safe air to breathe and clean water to drink is invaluable. It is absolutely priceless… we used to spend money and pollute the environment. Now we are using these funds to help clean up the environment for future generations.”

The second stage and future green areas

While the five remaining neighborhoods await the next phase selection process, at least 28 homeowners out of 31 owner-occupied homes have signed letters of intent to sell their homes, Duggan said. The city would use the utility conversion fund to pay them to sell the homes before selection, but they are not obligated to sell if the homeowners are not interested.

“We’ll visit them in 30 or 60 days and say, ‘If you want to sell anyway, we’ll buy it now, whether we choose your zone or not.’ And if they want to do it, fine, if they don’t want to do it, fine,” Duggan said.

The city is proposing a $4.4 million capital fund to cover this fund, using reserves from the Utility Conversion Fund.

According to the project agreement, the solar fields will operate and produce energy for 35 years. When they stop working, the contracts require developers to remove all equipment and return the property as a green field.

“With this agreement, we have the best in the world,” said Tepfirah Rushdan, chief sustainability officer.

Next steps

The authorities are obliged to submit several points to the City Council for approval. These include a resolution to acquire private property in each neighborhood, agreements with developers, and a resolution to establish an equity fund for voluntary purchases of owner-occupied homes in the five remaining neighborhood finalist areas.

Dana Afana is a Detroit City Hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: [email protected]. Follow her: @DanaAfana.