(WXYZ) — DTE Energy announced Monday plans to move forward with the plan to build a community solar project in Washtenaw County.
The project would be the first under the MIGreenPower plan. The 20-megawatt facility would be the largest solar project in the region.
The goal, according to DTE, is to support the City of Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township in achieving their clean energy goals. DTE customers can subscribe to the project.
MIGreenPower is a renewable energy program from DTE that allows customers to match their energy use to the company's wind and solar projects.
“With this project, DTE is bringing a large-scale community solar installation to the residents of Washtenaw County,” said Trevor Lauer, president of DTE’s electric company. “This is just one of many new solar projects DTE plans to bring online by 2025 to empower communities of Michiganders to go solar together.”
According to Lauer, DTE will use several utility-scale solar projects on the state's electric grid as well as smaller community solar projects.
The newest one will be located on a capped landfill on a greenfield site owned by Ann Arbor.
“We want to thank the City of Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township and the Michigan Public Service Commission for their partnership in moving this project forward,” Lauer said in a release. “We have been working closely with leaders of both communities to help them achieve their clean energy goals and help Michigan become a carbon neutral energy state.”
“The 20-megawatt solar park will provide Ann Arborites of all incomes the ability to subscribe to a local, clean energy initiative. It is an important and exciting step on our path to equity-focused, community-wide carbon neutrality. City staff have worked on this project for over two years and though there’s more to do, I am grateful for their individual and collective expertise, dedication and effort," Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor added in a release.
