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The City of Detroit aims to provide 100% of its municipal electricity usage from clean energy sources in the next decade. This project focused on solar initiatives for the city. Photo credit: Wirestock.
Project Dates: Fall 2022–Spring 2024
Client: City of Detroit Office of Sustainability
SEAS Faculty Advisor: Kerry C. Duggan, Lecturer
SEAS Students: Sanya Bery, Warren Gunn, Andrea Mahieu, Megan McLaughlin, Margerie Snider, Daniel Vargas-Weil
About the Client
The City of Detroit Office of Sustainability developed the Detroit Climate Strategy between 2020 and 2023, in strong collaboration with residents and multi-sector partners. The Strategy aims to mitigate the city’s impact on climate and ecological damage, while building a resilient and equitable future for Detroiters. The Strategy has targets to improve public health, air and water quality, and access to healthy food; foster green jobs; reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste; and make the city more resilient to the effects of climate change. Detroit is especially vulnerable to flooding and heat waves exacerbated by the climate crisis. These vulnerabilities are disproportionately experienced by low-income, Black, Brown, and Indigenous residents — the same residents who also experience inflated energy burden (the percentage of gross household income spent on energy costs). Under the Strategy’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, the city has committed to powering 100% of municipal electricity usage with clean energy by 2034.
About the Project
The City of Detroit Office of Sustainability requested support in crafting a plan specific to municipal and community-level solar development, with a focus on providing benefits to vulnerable communities through the production of clean energy. The project team assessed the feasibility of solar development on Detroit municipal buildings and land, quantifying potential costs and emissions reductions, understanding permitting and working with the investor-owned utility (DTE), and engaging community residents to measure interest in community solar. The team provided the city with recommendations on siting and policy changes for the successful, expedient and just implementation of solar energy in Detroit.
The team then conducted a cost-benefit analysis of the Detroit Solar Neighborhood Initiative, a city-owned project expected to generate 55 MW of renewable power to offset all 127 municipally-owned buildings. The Initiative is intended to improve air quality and health outcomes for residents. The project team also created educational materials for residents interested in learning more about and pursuing community solar.
Read the final report here.