DTE Energy has received state approval to add nearly 800 megawatts of renewable energy projects in Michigan through 2025 – including new solar farms in Detroit, Highland Park and River Rouge.
The Michigan Public Service Commission approved the plan this week. While DTE would cover some of the costs, the utility is looking for donations and government grants to cover the rest.
DTE would offer renewable energy bill credits to low-income customers “if the company is successful in securing the necessary funding” for the projects, per a DTE news release. The goal is to have the first one operating by late 2022 or early 2023, said Brian Calka, director of renewable solutions at DTE Energy.
A one-megawatt solar array takes 10 acres of land and costs a couple million dollars, Calka said. DTE wants to give 225 low-income customers a monthly bill credit from that size project, averaging $25 to $30 per month.
DTE picked Detroit, Highland Park and River Rouge because it wants to support jobs, add tax revenue and clean up blighted properties in those areas. DTE is closing its coal plant in River Rouge and could use that property for one of the solar farms, Calka said.
Soulardarity, a Highland Park solar non-profit, partially supports DTE’s plan, but takes issue with some pieces of it – including the proposed need for donors to make the project happen.
“Low-income communities bear the brunt of dangerous pollution and that’s why they should reap the benefits of community-owned solar, even if they cannot afford to install solar panels on their homes and businesses,” said Jackson Koeppel, executive director at Soulardarity, in the release. “We continue to urge DTE to get out of the way of true community ownership and equitable access to clean, renewable energy.”
DTE had $1.4 billion in operating earnings in 2020.
DTE also had changes approved this week to its MIGreenPower program. The program allows customers to pay extra to support new renewable energy projects in Michigan. The actual energy coming to their house doesn’t change because they enroll in the program, however.
“We don’t have individual wires or cables from the array to their respective home,” Calka said.
The MIGreenPower program rate will be 50% cheaper, going from $0.03 per kilowatt hour to $0.015 per hour, for a fully enrolled household. That equates to paying about $10 extra per month for the average customer instead of $20.
“The tangible impact they’re having is greening up the environment around them and providing a healthier world for themselves and generations to come,” Calka said.
Participating in the program creates more renewable energy per dollar than installing and maintaining rooftop solar panels, he said.
More than 32,000 customers have signed up for the MIGreenPower program, including businesses like Ford, General Motors, the University of Michigan and the state of Michigan.
DTE plans to have net zero carbon emissions by 2050. It has 2.2 million electric customers in southeast Michigan.
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