Mayor announces Houston-Whittier/Hayes and Greenfield Park as Phase 2 Solar Neighborhoods

• Two neighborhoods will add 61 acres of solar arrays, in total the arrays will generate enough solar energy to power 127 City municipal buildings
• Added to 104 acres in original three Solar neighborhoods, city will have total of 165 acres
• Contracts submitted to City Council for approval
• Leading national solar developers Lightstar Renewables and DTE Electric Company sharing development equally

Two east-side neighborhoods - Houston Whittier/Hayes and Greenfield Park/I-75/McNichols - have been selected through a highly competitive process to be the City's next two Solar Neighborhoods, Mayor Mike Duggan announced today.

The addition of the two neighborhoods would create another 61 acres of solar arrays. When added to the 104 acres in Phase One, this would bring to 165 the total number of acres in the mayor's Solar Neighborhoods initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to take vacant, blighted land and put it to use generating enough clean energy to power 127 City municipal buildings as part of the City's efforts to address climate change. These include all police and fire stations, transit centers, City administrative buildings, recreation centers, health clinics, City Airport and more.

Houston Whittier/Hayes and Greenfield Park were selected from five remaining finalists after Gratiot-Findlay, Van Dyke-Lynch and State Fair were selected as the first three Solar Neighborhoods in Phase One. In December, the Mayor announced that all Phase 1 neighborhoods had signed their agreements with developers and approved final landscape designs that included decorative fencing, ornamental trees and perennials, along with flower meadows and/or urban agriculture within their solar arrays.

"Detroit is taking real action to fight climate change, while removing blight and investing in long-neglected areas," Mayor Duggan said. "Now, two more neighborhoods in our city know that they have not been forgotten."

Phase 2 Solar Neighborhood Details:

Greenfield Park:

• 42.6 acres of solar
• 9 relocation homeowners within the Solar Array
• 36 Community Benefit homeowners who will receive $25,000 each in energy efficiency upgrades

Houston-Whittier/ Hayes:

• 18.7 acres of solar
• 2 relocation homeowners within the Solar Array
• 70 Community Benefit homeowners who will receive $15,000 each in energy efficiency upgrades

While this completes the Solar Neighborhoods selection process, the three finalist neighborhoods not selected at this time for solar arrays (O'Shea, Mt. Olivet, and Trinity/ Pickford) would be leading candidates if future solar arrays are sought and if the neighborhoods are still interested.

Home energy efficiency upgrades for 106 adjoining owner-occupied homes

There are 106 documented owner-occupied homes in the areas adjoining the new solar fields. The homeowners selected the boundaries of the adjoining zones. Those 106 homeowners will receive home energy efficiency upgrades ranging from $15,000 to $25,000 (depending on the number of solar acres). The eligible home improvements are energy efficiency upgrades to the homes, options such as:

• Windows
• Repairing roofs
• Residential solar panels
• Energy-efficient appliances
• Home insulation and air sealing
• Energy-efficient furnaces and hot water heaters
• Installing smart thermostats
• Energy-efficient lighting
• Battery backup

These homeowners who stayed will get the double benefit of having the most blighted areas replaced by solar fields and will have their neighborhood homes upgraded with new investment.

"It's great to see the city moving towards renewable energy and moving on issues related to greenhouse gases, and at the same time making sure homeowners living in these neighborhoods receive some direct benefits," said Houston-Whittier resident Sandra Turner-Handy. "Not only will we replace blighted land with new solar areas we will help design, we also will receive significant energy efficiency upgrades to our homes."

The Land acquisition process

All Phase 2 owners of owner-occupied homes have already entered into written agreements for voluntary buy-outs by the City. In the 61 acres in Phase 2, the extensive neighborhood and legal outreach have identified only 11 owner-occupied homes. All 11 homeowners have indicated their desire to move from the neighborhood and all have signed option contracts for an agreed-upon price.

Renters in the Phase 2 area will receive the cost of relocating and 18 months free rent in their new home, pursuant to Michigan law.

Condemnation will be used to acquire the property of landlords and vacant landowners, who will be paid fair market value for their property pursuant to Michigan law.

"I am grateful for this opportunity for my neighborhood, even though I will be moving to a new neighborhood to help make it happen," said Greenfield Park resident Ervin Mays, who currently lives inside the planned solar array. "I have been treated very well in this process and look forward to new beginnings made possible for my neighborhood and myself.

Two solar field developers selected - each will build 3 solar fields with approximately 100 acres

Following an extensive bid process during Phase 1, the City identified two highly qualified developers to build Detroit's solar fields. The City is now expanding on those existing contracts to add 1 neighborhood to each developer.

Lightstar, one of the nation's leading solar developers, has been selected for the highly anticipated Phase 2 projects to advance clean energy solutions in Detroit. Phase 1 of this endeavor will bring 63 acres of solar fields to the Gratiot/Findlay and State Fair neighborhoods, while Phase 2 will see the addition of 19 acres in the Houston-Witter/Hayes community. Together, these projects represent a significant step forward in sustainable energy innovation and environmental stewardship.

Based in Boston, Lightstar is an independent power producer (IPP) that stands at the forefront of the clean energy transition. Since its founding in 2019, Lightstar has delivered on its mission to develop, construct, and own community solar energy systems that create lasting benefits for people, the land, and our planet. With over 1 gigawatt (GW) of projects completed or in development across the United States, Lightstar is redefining what solar energy can accomplish.

DTE Electric Company, which is operating more than 30 solar fields across Michigan - the largest being 250 acres in Lapeer - has been selected to build the 40-acre solar field in the Van Dyke/Lynch neighborhood in Phase 1 and 43 acres of solar fields in the Greenfield Park neighborhood in Phase 2.

Several non-profits have worked as advocates with the neighborhood groups throughout this process and will continue to work for those neighborhood groups through the entirety of the process.

The City of Detroit will maintain ownership of all the land and will lease it to the developers.

"I am pleased that this project is coming online and will soon be producing cleaner, greener energy for Detroit," said Detroit City Councilmember Scott Benson, who represents Greenfield Park. "This project will help combat climate change, improve Detroit's air quality, support our local economy, provide home improvements within the impact areas, and strengthen Detroit's power grid. This is positive change has been driven at the neighborhood level with residents leading and participating in every step."

"The Detroit Climate Strategy is an ambitious plan to address the imminent realities of a changing climate," said Councilmember Latisha Johnon, who represents Houston-Whittier. "An integral part of the strategy calls for our city to transition to clean, renewable energy by 2034. Implementing solar farms will go a long way toward meeting this goal while providing significant community benefits and minimal displacement of our neighbors. The Department of Neighborhoods and the Office of Sustainability did a good job engaging the community in the selection process, which I confirmed when meeting with my District 4 constituents."

Councilmember-at-large Mary Waters stated: "I am elated to see this project expand across the city, helping Detroit to lead in the Green Energy revolution. Creating a more resilient and environmentally friendly power grid helps Detroiters get more reliable power while protecting our environment. These solar developments are just one of the ways we are working in city government to help improve the lives of residents while making our city ready for the future?"

Funding for the Project - Made Possible by Tax Credits from the Inflation Reduction Act

During Phase 1, Mayor Duggan explained the reason city is undertaking the solar power project now is that it only became financially viable because of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. "President Biden reduced the costs of large-scale solar projects like Detroit's by 30% through the automatic tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act," the Mayor said. "Communities across America need to stop talking about fighting climate change and start to act. Under the new law, large-scale solar projects make good financial sense." The IRA continues to be one of the main reasons the City can undertake this solar project.

Capital Costs will be paid by the City of Detroit's Utility Conversion Fund. This is a long-standing fund dating back to the days when the city operated its own power system. That fund is legally required to be used for energy conversion. A total of $21 million for the upfront costs between Phase 1 and 2 for acquiring and clearing the land will be paid from the existing fund. No new appropriation will be needed.

Net operating costs are projected to increase $1.7 million per year. The City of Detroit currently spends nearly $3.7 million per year within the boundaries of the five blighted solar field zones across several departments:

1) Constant illegal dumping and trash pickup

2) Mowing and maintenance of overgrown lots and abandoned houses

3) Police and fire runs

4) Street maintenance, building inspections and enforcement, storm water backups and repairs

On an annual basis, the City projects the costs of the Phase 1 and 2 solar fields as follow:

Annual operating cost $8.3 million

Renewable energy savings offset ($2.9 million)

City department cost reductions ($3.7 million)

Savings from solar fields $6.6 million

Total Net Costs $1.7 million

"We have seen property values and income tax revenues grow dramatically in other neighborhoods where the city has made investments," Mayor Duggan said. "I'm confident our $1.7 million a year investment in these long-forgotten neighborhoods will produce a real recovery in these communities."

Solar Fields required to be returned to the City as greenfield sites when no longer generating power

Under the agreements, the Solar Fields will operate for 35 years generating solar power. Whenever their useful life as solar fields comes to an end, the contracts require the developers to remove all of the solar equipment and return the property to the city as a green field.

"Governments have a fundamental responsibility to take action to improve quality of life, address climate change and ensure clean air for future generations," said the city's Director of the Office of Sustainability, Tepfirah Rushdan. "It's exciting to see Detroit leading the way in clean energy."

Next Steps

To begin the next step of the process, the Mayor's office has transmitted several documents to City Council for approval. Those include:

• Resolution for the acquisition of private property in each of the three neighborhoods to assemble the land needed for the proposed solar arrays
• Contracts with two developers selected following a procurement process

A group of community-based neighborhood solar partners has been assisting residents through this process, including:

1. Green Door Initiative

1. EcoWorks

2. D2 Solar

3. MI Interfaith Power and Light

4. Peace Tree

5. Sustainable Community Farms

6. Walker-Miller Energy

7. Rescue MI Nature

8. Worldwide Management Services Corporation/Communities Power

9. Ryter Cooperatives

10. First Family Solar

11. Anti-Gravity, LLC

12. SDEV

13. Energy Alliance

Director of Sustainability Tepfirah Rushdan speaks with Houston Whittier/Hayes resident Sandra Turner Handy about the solar project in her neighborhood. Mayor Mike Duggan smiles as Houston Whittier/Hayes neighborhood resident Sandra Turner Handy recalls her persistence in seeking to make her neighborhood one of the city's five solar areas.