Ann Arbor installing 4,768 solar panels on city buildings
About 1,002 solar panels are online
The city of Ann Arbor is installing about 4,768 solar panels, most of which are funded with federal money from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Of those 4,768 panels, about 1,002 are online.
The city received more than $24 million from the federal government. Ann Arbor has spent 99% of that across 21 projects, according to a city dashboard that tracks spending.
One $4.5-million project placed solar panels on 12 city facilities, Simi Barr, a senior analyst of municipal operations at the Office of Sustainability and Innovations, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.
“ARPA funding has supported solar installations at 12 city facilities, 10 of which are completed and online,” Barr wrote. “The final two are in progress, one is in construction and the other nearing construction. One battery system and seven dual port EV chargers were also installed as part of this project.”
A 64kWh battery was installed at the Ann Arbor senior center for backup power, and electric vehicle chargers were installed at Leslie Park Golf Course, Huron Hills Golf Course, Ann Arbor Senior Center, and Fuller Park for public use, Barr wrote. Most of the solar systems were also designed with battery storage in mind.
“These solar systems are designed to generate electricity onsite which can be used directly by the facility or is fed back into the grid and the city receives a credit for this outflow,” said Barr. “The size of the systems is based on the annual electricity usage of the facility, and we looked to maximize the size of systems as much as feasibly possible. All systems were designed to lower the utility costs of the facility, which opens up operating expenses to be used for other high priority projects.”
More than 1,000 panels have already been installed, while about 3,766 are still under construction, according to the city. The solar installation should be completed by the end of the year, Barr said. APRA funding paid for the cost of most projects in the following chart, though it represented roughly 31% of the installation cost for Fuller Park and 70% of the costs for the Wheeler Service Center.
The federal money paid for solar panels at nine city sites, energy storage and battery systems at two sites, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure at five sites, all for about $3 million.
The city’s full 139-page proposal describes the solar projects in detail.
Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.