DETROIT (WXYZ) — Wednesday night, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is scheduled to layout his plan to create solar farms in qualifying Detroit neighborhoods. That speech is slated to take place at Second Ebenezer Church at 7 p.m.
He said the goal is to tackle blight and provide solar power to city buildings that's generated within city limits.
The city cited O'Shea Solar Park as an example of what the mayor is looking to create. DTE Energy is the solar developer of the site.
Resident Michael Lippett said he and a business partner rehab homes and vacant lots. Some of those properties are near O'Shea Solar Park. He said the mayor's vision aligns with his own.
"Yup, I think that’s a great thing to do," Lippett told 7 Action News. "We just trying to build up the community.”
A neighbor named Stella said she remembers when the solar farm came about 7 years ago and said she’s never been impressed.
“My thing is this, what about the trees (and) the vacant houses? You know, ya’ll are worried about the wrong thing," Stella said.
It’s that various feedback city leaders say they want to hear from residents.
Errin Harris is the deputy director of the Department of Neighborhoods.
“In the Department of Neighborhoods, we constantly are getting calls on a regular basis, complaints from residents about vacant land that is blighted, that people have dumped on constantly. And so, this is a way that residents can get involved, have solar farms in their neighborhood and it will eliminate blight and it will help the city reduce its carbon footprint," she explained.
Harris said the solar energy would power city buildings and that it's an initiative promoted by the President Joe Biden administration.
“So, in order to do this, we need to have 250 acres throughout the city," she said.
Harris said at least 20 acres per farm is needed. 7 Action News couldn't get a dollar figure, but she said additional benefits to residents could include cost savings.
"They will decide if they want more energy efficient windows, maybe a new roof, but that will be a decision they would have to decide on their own as a community," she said.
If a majority don't want them, Harris explained, “I think we’re just going to have a lot of conversation with neighborhoods, and we definitely want to stress that we’re not going to go anywhere that people do not want us to come. So, if the majority does not want this, then we will not go to those locations."
