Copyright WDIV ClickOnDetroit
DETROIT – After two years of planning, construction has officially begun on what Detroit is calling its first solar neighborhoods. Crews broke ground Monday, Oct. 27, in the Van Dyke Lynch neighborhood on Detroit’s east side, kicking off a project that will ultimately install solar arrays across 165 acres of vacant land in five neighborhoods: Vandyke Lynch, Gratiot Findley, State Fair, Greenfield Park and Houston-Whittier. “It’s a perfect day for solar energy,” Mayor Mike Duggan said at the press conference that marked the milestone. The ceremony drew city leaders, contractors and neighbors who have watched the long-awaited project move from idea to reality. For former resident Matlock Calhoun, the site of the groundbreaking was a place of childhood memories and later decline. “Used to be a corner store right here. I used to always be there playing video game. The ice cream stand up the street, I used to get pizza and ice cream,” he recalled. Calhoun said homes once stood where the new solar fields will be. “The challenges with the neighborhood. It just got badder as that crack epidemic came along,” he said, describing the years of disinvestment and vacancy. Now, he said, the community’s story is being rewritten. “To be something better for the future, I think it’s great.” Work has begun to install solar panels across acres of previously vacant lots. Streets near the construction sites have been blocked off as heavy equipment moves in and crews prepare the ground. Scott Benson of the Detroit City Council emphasized the environmental benefit. “This array will allow Detroit to significantly offset its municipal greenhouse gas footprint, raking a huge bite out of our carbon emissions and helping secure a healthier environment.” Partners on the project include the City of Detroit, DTE and their contractors, and other agencies, who together will oversee the installation across the five neighborhoods. The solar energy produced is planned to help power city buildings, including recreation centers and fire stations. As part of the project, neighbors who choose to remain near the solar farms will be eligible for energy-efficiency upgrades to their homes. The incentives are aimed at helping long-time residents share in the project’s benefits rather than bearing the impacts alone. Tammy Black, with the Community Solar Training Academy and a clean-energy advocate, spoke to the tangible difference such efforts can make. “It has made so much of a difference. I put solar in 25 homes in Jefferson Chalmers. Half of those homeowners are senior citizens. So, you can imagine when they get a bill for 10-bucks,” she said. For many neighbors, the start of construction is the end of a long wait. “For me, today is a day worth waiting for,” said resident Haley Henley. The project — two years in development — represents a new approach to reclaiming vacant urban land for renewable energy and community benefit. City leaders say the arrays will reduce municipal emissions, provide clean power to public facilities and bring targeted home upgrades to residents living alongside the solar fields. As construction ramps up in Vandyke Lynch and the other neighborhoods, officials and advocates say they hope the installations mark the beginning of broader neighborhood revitalization and a cleaner energy future for Detroit.
