Overview:
- Detroit's Solar Neighborhoods Initiative has selected Greenfield-McNichols and Houston-Whittier as the final sites for solar arrays to power 127 city buildings.
- This program aims to expand renewable energy in Detroit, adding over 60 acres of solar arrays to these neighborhoods, in addition to 104 acres in Gratiot-Findlay, Van Dyke-Lynch, and State Fair.
- Homeowners within the solar development areas will receive twice the fair market value of their homes or $90,000, whichever is higher.
- The initiative is set to be completed by late 2025 or early 2026.
City officials have chosen two east side neighborhoods, Greenfield-McNichols and Houston-Whittier, as the final two sites for solar arrays that will help power 127 city buildings as part of Detroit’s Solar Neighborhoods Initiative.
Pending City Council approval, the new installations will build on the program launched by Mayor Mike Duggan, which aims to expand renewable energy across Detroit.
Solar panels in the first phase neighborhoods—Gratiot-Findlay, Van Dyke-Lynch, and State Fair—could be operational by late summer, while the Greenfield-McNichols and Houston-Whittier arrays are expected to be completed by late 2025 or early 2026, Duggan said.
The two East neighborhoods, set to generate 9.6 megawatts, will host more than 60 acres of solar arrays, adding to 104 acres in Gratiot-Findlay, Van Dyke-Lynch, and State Fair. Duggan said the two neighborhoods will “complete this project” to power the city’s 127 municipal buildings.
Once approved by City Council, residents from the two neighborhoods will decide the design of the arrays. This includes specification of fencing, landscaping around the perimeter, ground cover under the panels, including agrivoltaics or manicured meadows.
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Detroit unveils designs for first solar neighborhoods
Detroit’s first solar neighborhoods aim to integrate renewable energy and community gardens into the urban landscape, as unveiled by Mayor Mike Duggan and city officials.
Three Detroit neighborhoods selected to host solar fields
DTE slated to develop half of city’s solar projects. Residents in other possible project areas would be given a chance to sell homes.
Homeowners in the footprint of the solar developments will receive twice the fair market value of their homes or $90,000, whichever is higher, according to city officials. Renters will get 18 months of rent to relocate.
“We’ve taken the area that’s the most blighted, that probably only has one house every block or two, and we’re going to turn that into beautiful fields,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said at a Wednesday press conference.
Duggan said the city will not condemn owner-occupied homes for the project. However, he said the city is using eminent domain to acquire abandoned homes and vacant lots owned by speculators.
Solar project a ‘win-win’ for city and residential bills
Sandra Turner-Handy, a resident of the Houston-Whittier neighborhood for over 25 years and interim executive director of Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, applauded the program,.
“If I look out of my window and see nothing but dumping, how does that make me feel?” Turner-Handy said at the press conference. “Now I can see things growing.”
Within the two neighborhoods, 104 homes will receive an average of $15,000 for energy efficiency, improvements like new furnaces, new central air and better windows, Duggan said.
Turner-Handy called the solar project a “win-win” for the city and residents. She said her neighbors, many of them seniors, are looking forward to the financial relief, as many live on fixed incomes and cannot afford the types of energy efficiency upgrades that they will receive as part of the project.
“When we move towards solar, that reduces the cost of city services, and that’s important as a resident, that we’re not paying these astronomical energy bills,” Turner-Handy said.
District 4 Council Member Latisha Johnson said her district has “borne the brunt of climate change” and that the solar project will help address these impacts.
“We’ve seen heavy rainfalls that caused water to come into our homes,” Johnson said. “This will help all of us in all of our communities.”
She said she’s met with one resident and her grandchildren were “ecstatic” about the project.
“Who was I to say no to them because they wanted it in their community,” Johnson said.
Attracting new Detroit residents
District 3 Council Member Scott Benson said the city’s move to solar will attract new residents to Detroit. Last year Detroit gained 1,852 residents for the first time since 1957.
“This is a nine-digit investment in neighborhoods that hadn’t seen investment in decades,” he said. “They see what’s going on. We’ve become a solution when it comes to sustainability, improving the quality of life, our health and our power grid challenges.”
Benson also highlighted the health benefits of clean energy, including lower asthma rates.
“So this is just another example of how residency in the city of Detroit has its privileges, and sustainability is leading the way,” he said.
Nine neighborhoods initially competed for selection as part of the program. While some neighborhoods rejected the program, highlighting concerns about economic development, Duggan touted the program’s benefits.
“We’re going to have stronger neighborhoods surrounding the solar fields than we’ve had in many, many years,” Duggan said.
Duggan, who has announced that he will run for Michigan governor as an independent in 2026, spoke about the program as part of his legacy.
“Some future mayor may decide they want to do this for the public street lights or the Detroit public schools or something, but this is the end of what I committed to, which is enough solar power to generate the power used by the 127 municipal buildings,” Duggan said.