Solar Neighborhood Initiative

Accelerating climate action and creating vibrant resilient neighborhoods

The City of Detroit is seeking block clubs and community groups to host solar fields to power City buildings. If your community is near large parcels of vacant land, and you are interested in learning more about this opportunity, please fill out the Community Interest Form.

The Department of Neighborhoods will review your submission and schedule a follow up meeting. If the proposed area is found suitable, your community will be paired with mentors to assist with completing a full application.

The City of Detroit is soliciting proposals from qualified solar providers to design, engineer, build, operate, maintain, and decommission installations of ground-mount solar PV projects at a subset of the identified sites sufficient to generate at least 55,000 MWh/yr. The operation will include handling all power, capacity, or similar sales from the project for the City. The goal of this is to identify a solar partner with the necessary experience and capability to ensure a fully managed and well-executed project. 

One of the top complaints of Detroit residents is illegal dumping on vacant land. The Department of Neighborhoods works to address these complaints and make sure City resources are directed towards cleanup.

The plan announced by the Mayor aims to fight the blight and illegal dumping, curb climate change by creating clean, renewable energy to power municipal buildings, and provide benefits to households in the neighborhoods who choose to bring in solar.

Transitioning to clean energy is one of four strategies identified in the upcoming Detroit Climate Strategy. Analysis shows that almost 70% of Detroit’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2018 came from the generation of energy to power our buildings and activities. Generating our electricity from clean sources like solar is critical to meet our GHG reduction goals, lower energy costs for residents and businesses, and improve air quality.