Odds are the skies are grey as you are reading this – after all, it is Michigan and winters can get a bit bleak. But regardless of cloudy skies and rainy days, solar power generation is possible here.
In fact, the state’s Department of Labor and Energy identified 650 kilowatts of photovoltaic systems installed in Michigan in 2006 – and that’s a number that's growing by leaps and bounds. There was less than 200 kW just two years prior. Sure, that figure is dwarfed by the state’s wind energy generation, and wind’s potential is much greater here, too. But that doesn’t mean solar can't play a role in lessening the Wolverine State’s consumption of nonrenewable energy sources.
Ypsi lets the sun shine in
The city of Ypsilanti is perhaps the most visible proponent of solar energy in the area, thanks to a dedicated community-based group called Ypsi Solar.
The group got its start with a state grant that funded the installation of four solar panels at the Ypsilanti Food Cooperative back in 2004. Volunteer Dave Strenski calls this initial project "pretty small" but says it raised visibility, helped increase the group’s technical capacity and whetted its appetite for more.
Soon after came a fifth panel and seven more were funded in 2008. They have all been installed to power one 600-square-foot section of the store; because a grocery store is such a huge energy consumer – think of all the refrigeration – Strenski considers it in sections when he determines where new panels should go. "Now we’re coming close to fully-powering that part of the store," he says.
Next up is the co-op’s River Street Bakery, located next-door, which will see thirty solar panels installed on its roof next summer. Because the ovens burn wood pallets for their fuel source, it was a logical progression to add solar to the mix. "Now, all the bread we bake will be baked by 100% renewable energy," says Strenski.
Strenski’s goal is to achieve high visibility for Ypsilanti's solar power, so he aimed high: Ypsi's City Hall. And this dream, a year in the making, is close to becoming a reality after the recent approval of the installation of 12 panels on the back of the building, funded by a $35,980 state grant.
Through the bureaucratic process, which included approval from the city’s Historic District Commission, more and more media attention and community support was garnered for the project. And that’s all good to Strenski. He now plans on developing Ypsi Solar’s website to graph each solar site’s production, consumption and metering activity – that’s when excess power generated is sold back to the utility company. "We’re the first commercial [solar project] to do net metering with DTE," he says. "The co-op and City Hall are my sandboxes!"
Thankfully, the sandbox is not just Strenski’s. The self-proclaimed "tech geek" is turning his fun into practical and educational information for all other potential solarites – so it’s a good thing he’s around to show the rest of us the ropes.
Starting Small
Another guy cut from much the same cloth as Strenski can be found in Detroit, just northwest of downtown in Woodbridge. That’s where contractor Michael Olszewski lives and works – and tinkers with various renewable energy projects. He's installed a tiny wind turbine on his roof to power his lights (LED, natch) and a solar space heater on a wall. He plans to next add solar panels on the roof.
If you are unfamiliar with a solar space heater, or air collector, you’re in good company. It is actually a very simple piece of equipment: a four-by-seven-foot box that goes into a wall. The exterior of the box is a solar panel that collects photovoltaic energy from the sun that heats up a fan that pushes hot air out of the box and into the building.
It’s not intended to replace a furnace, but it can heat a small space or supplement a furnace that is prudently kept at a low temperature – one example that springs to mind is for a baby’s room in an energy-conscious household. For Olszewski, he’s happy when it "keeps the boiler from kicking on."
The solar space heaters run about $1,800. Although they are eligible for a 30% tax rebate, Olszewski says they are "definitely not cheap." But he has good reason to spend the money and learn about this stuff first hand: he plans to start a company to install solar and wind systems. "It is my hobby, my passion," he says. "And if I spend the money now, it will only make it cheaper for people down the road."
Local Rundown
If all the D.I.Y.-ism of this article has inspired you to learn more, you’re in luck. There are numerous examples of solar projects in the Detroit area, many of which are at least partially open to the public.
The Orchards, a multi-family housing development in Wyandotte, is making solar panels standard with each unit and Detroit’s Mariner’s Inn has panels on its roof visible from its exterior. Ann Arbor’s main fire station and Hands-On Museum share a solar water heating system, and the museum even has a display on it. The Detroit Science Center is next, with a big solar project reportedly in the works.
In January, the Nautilus House in Ann Arbor will open to the public for a tour. The home renovation includes the installation of a curvilinear roof that maximizes the opportunity for solar production. Read more about it here and stay tuned to Metromode’s "Green Space" column for date and time information.
One last thing about solar: the time is now. The recent bailout package includes tax credits for the installation of solar panels and the incoming president is talking about investing $150 billion over the next decade into the green economy.
What, are you afraid of a little sun?
Kelli B Kavanaugh is Model D's development news editor and writes the weekly column, Green Space, for Metromode. Her last feature was Michigan Green Jobs.
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