Solar power in Michigan

A University of Michigan solar car in Ann Arbor during the 2011 Rolling Sculpture Car Show.

Solar power in Michigan has been growing in recent years due to new technological improvements and a variety of regulatory actions and financial incentives, particularly a 30% federal tax credit, available through 2016, for any size project.

Solar farms

In July 2012, Michigan's largest rooftop array, 977.6 kW, was installed in Canton on the IKEA store.[1] Ford Motor Company and DTE Energy built the largest solar plant in the state, a 1.04MW solar car port at Ford's world headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan in 2015[2][3] In 2015, DTE built a 1.1MW solar farm at Domino's Farms near Ann Arbor, slightly larger than the Ford carport.[4] The Ikea store announced an expansion of its existing array in 2015 to bring it to 1.2MW.[5] A 1.95 MW solar farm at DTE's Greenwood Energy Center near St. Clair came online in January 2016.[6]

A 1.4 MW solar farm is planned by American Municipal Power at a brownfield site in Coldwater and expected to be online in 2016.[7]

In late 2015, DTE began construction on two solar farms in Lapeer County: a 30MW farm and a 15 MW solar farm with completion expected in 2016.[8] These would be the first large utility-scale solar farms in the state, with the larger covering 200 acres of land and the smaller one covering 100 acres.[9]

Fort Custer began construction in May 2015 of a 0.25MW solar farm with plans for a second 0.3MW farm later.[10] This is part of the U.S. military's renewable energy goals of 25% renewables by 2025. Camp Grayling has a small 0.02MW installation on one building roof while Selfridge Air National Guard Base had no solar power by 2014.

The Lansing Board of Water and Light is planning a 20MW project that would almost double the amount of solar power in the state.[11] In September 2015, Michigan State University approved solar car ports that would cover 5 parking lots and have a total of 10 MW of power.[12] Indiana Michigan Power plans to break ground in early 2016 on a 4.6 MW solar farm near Watervliet.[13]

Community solar

In 2015, several community solar projects were proposed. Consumers Power broke ground on a 3 MW solar farm at Grand Valley State University expected to be finished in early 2016, which could become the largest solar farm in Michigan.[14] Two 0.3 MW community solar farms are proposed by Lansing BWL, one in East Lansing and one in Lansing.[15] DTE Energy has issued proposals for community solar farms that could reach 50 MW.[16]

Solar industry

Suniva opened a 200MW-capacity solar panel factory in Saginaw, Michigan in 2014.[17]

In 2002, Stanford R. Ovshinsky built a factory in Auburn Hills, Michigan to build low cost Uni-Solar panels using amorphous semiconductors that generate power in diffuse light.[18] Uni-Solar became the second largest manufacturer of thin film solar cells, after First Solar, and a developer of solar shingles before going bankrupt in 2012.[19][20] Michigan was ranked 14th among U.S. states for solar jobs in 2013.[21]

Government policy

The Government of Michigan has taken a variety of actions in order to encourage solar energy use within the state.

Net metering

The state has a net metering program that allows installations of up to 20 kW of on-site electrical generation to continuously roll over any excess generation to the next month. Participation is limited to 0.75% of utilities peak demand the prior year.[22] Peak demand for the state for 2011 was 21,477 MW.[23]

Renewable portfolio standard

The state adopted a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in 2008 which requires that 10% of Michigan's electricity come from renewable resources by 2015.[24] This standard was met mostly by wind power. A program to add 2 MW of solar by Consumers Energy customers was reached in two weeks, and the state directed the company to offer another 2 MW at a cost not to exceed $20 million.[25]

Installed capacity

Michigan Grid-Connected PV Capacity (MW)[26][27][28][29][30][31]
Year Capacity Change % Change
2007 0.4
2008 0.4 —
2009 0.7 0.3 75%
2010 2.6 1.9 271%
2011 8.8 6.2 238%
2012 19.9 11.1 126%
2013 22.2 2.3 10%

Largest systems

Systems of 0.5 MW and larger

Name Location Size (MW) Notes
Greenwood Energy Center Avoca 1.95 DTE Energy[32]
Canton Ikea Canton 1.2

[33]

Domino's Farms Ann Arbor 1.08 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
Ford World Headquarters Dearborn 1.04 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
University of Michigan Ann Arbor 0.81 DTE Energy SolarCurrents, 2 locations[34]
McPhail Wixom 0.81 DTE Energy SolarCurrents[35]
Romulus Solar Romulus 0.75 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
Thumb Solar Caro 0.66 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
GM Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Hamtramck 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents[36]
Ford Michigan Assembly Wayne 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
Hartland Schools Hartland 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
Liepprandt Orchard Pigeon 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents[37]
Monroe County Community College Monroe 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
Indian Springs Metropark White Lake 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
Riopelle Farms Harbor Beach 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
St. Clair RESA Marysville 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Monroe 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
Brownstown Solar Taylor 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents
Wil Le Farms Bad Axe 0.5 DTE Energy SolarCurrents

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mich.'s Largest Solar Array Plugged In Atop IKEA
  2. ↑ DTE plans big solar power project with Domino's Farms in Ann Arbor Township, Crain's Business Detroit, Jay, Greene, May 15, 2015
  3. ↑ Ford, DTE Energy to build Michigan's largest solar array, DTE, Aug 14, 2014
  4. ↑ Michigan's largest solar panel installation taking shape outside Ann Arbor, mlive.com, Ryan Stanton, May 14, 2015
  5. ↑ IKEA to Increase Size of Michigan’s Largest Rooftop Solar Array by Approximately 25% Atop Detroit-Area Store in Canton, MI, Business Wire, December 03, 2014
  6. ↑ Solar power projects heat up across Michigan, Capital News Service, Colleen Otte, December 4, 2015
  7. ↑ Solar farm could begin construction in August, The Daily Reporter, July 17, 2015
  8. ↑ DTE Energy announces biggest solar project yet, Michigan Radio, Sarah Cwiek, December 21, 2015
  9. ↑ DTE Energy building two solar sites planned to be largest in Michigan, mlive.com, Dominic Adams, December 21, 2015
  10. ↑ More than 700 solar panels installed at Fort Custer Training Center, mlive, May 15, 2015
  11. ↑ Planned project would nearly double Michigan’s solar capacity, Midwest Energy News, Andy Balaskovitz, March 11, 2015
  12. ↑ MSU trustees approve largest solar array in Michigan, Detroit Free Press, from Lansing State Journal, RJ Wolcott, September 11, 2015
  13. ↑ Indiana Michigan Power Planning Solar Power Facility Near Watervliet, WSJM, January 5, 2016
  14. ↑ Ground broken for solar farm near GVSU campus, WZZM, October 2, 2015
  15. ↑ Community Solar Parks to be Developed in Cities of East Lansing and Lansing, FOX 47 News, November 3, 2015
  16. ↑ DTE Energy issues RFP for voluntary solar program, Crain's Business Detroit, June 25, 2015
  17. ↑ Suniva Starts Construction on 200 MW Solar Factory in Michigan, CleanTechnica, Zachary Shahan, August 15, 2014
  18. ↑ Functionality of the UNI-SOLAR® PV Cells
  19. ↑ Thin Film Solar Firms
  20. ↑ UNI-SOLAR Brand Debuts First Ever, UL-Approved, Standard-Production Residential Solar Module Roof Shingle
  21. ↑ State Solar Jobs, the Solar Foundation
  22. ↑ "Michigan - Net Metering". Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  23. ↑ Semiannual Projections of Energy Supply and Demand Winter Outlook 2011- 2012
  24. ↑ "Renewable Energy Standard". 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  25. ↑ Michigan PSC Directs Consumers Energy to Expand Solar Program
  26. ↑ Sherwood, Larry (August 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2011" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
  27. ↑ Sherwood, Larry (June 2011). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2010" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 20. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  28. ↑ Sherwood, Larry (July 2010). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2009" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 23. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  29. ↑ Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  30. ↑ Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
  31. ↑ Sherwood, Larry (July 2014). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  32. ↑ DTE Energy opens solar energy facilities in three Michigan communities, PRNewswire, Feb. 4, 2016
  33. ↑ Michigan’s Largest Solar Array Now Plugged In Atop Ikea Canton, CBS Detroit, July 10, 2012
  34. ↑
  35. ↑ DTE is busy growing solar panel field beside I-96, DetroitFree Press, March 10, 2014
  36. ↑ DTE Energy SolarCurrents Utility-Owned Program Aggregate Output, accessed July 11, 2012
  37. ↑

External links

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