The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
City solar project slowly moving forward
Solar project leaders have secured grant monies from state
By Pat Grimes, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: August 21, 2008
History tells us the great cathedrals of Europe were built over a span of generations. For local green energy enthusiasts keen on putting solar energy panels on the southern face of Ypsilanti City Hall, the wait seems almost as long.
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There is hope, however, in the fact solar supporters have successfully obtained grant money from the state to fund the City Hall project and are taking steps to get it approved and installed.
In May, the Michigan Public Service Commission approved nearly $6.5 million in energy efficiency grants to fourteen Michigan organizations, including the Ypsilanti Food Cooperative, which secured nearly $36 thousand for the Ypsi Goes Green project, a plan to install solar photovoltaic panels on the Co-op's roof and on City Hall. The food Co-op will add seven panels to their current five, and 12 panels are slated to go up on City Hall.
The grant money will also provide for a Web site to show real-time energy savings. Other grantees include the University of Michigan, General Motors Corporation, DTE Energy Company, West Michigan Environmental Action Council and Recycle Ann Arbor. Monies donated to the City Hall Solar Project by interested citizens will be also used to complete the installation.
With the needed funds in hand, project coordinator and local solar guru Dave Strenski arranged for a "pull test" of the anchors proposed to hold the City Hall panels to the building, with positive results. Each anchor proved capable of withstanding 2,000 pounds of pull force, far more than needed to keep a photovoltaic panel in place. Strenski also helped create a prototype Ypsi Solar Webpage that will allow real-time monitoring of the electricity generated at the Food Co-op, City Hall, and any other local solar energy installations that wish to participate.
According to Strenski, the timeline for this high-profile "greening" of Ypsilanti is as follows: Bids for the structural engineering work have been sent out and the decision to hire a structural engineering company will soon be made, at which time the engineering firm will spend two or three weeks of doing the design work. Late August or early September is the target date for a stamped City Hall project design presentation to City Council; following approval from that august body, project supporters will seek a like decision from the Historic District Commission.
Should they approve, Requests For Bids for solar panels and power inverters could be sent out in late September. Once the panels and inverters are selected and ordered, the rack for the back of City Hall can be built.
Supporters of the solar installations at City Hall and the Co-op see these projects as important symbols of the city's commitment to green energy generation and an opportunity to bolster our state's economy. They point to a portion of the senate.michigan.gov Web site touting solar energy generation as a viable industry for Michigan.
"Consumers, businesses and manufacturers in Michigan currently pay $18 billion each year to import coal, oil and natural gas. Of that $18 billion we import 100 percent of the coal we use, 96 percent of the oil we consume for transportation fuels and 75 percent of our natural gas from other states.
"That money heads across the border each year to help workers and businesses in other states, and it does nothing to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, lower greenhouse gas emissions, diversify our state's economy or create jobs here in Michigan."
The press release went on, "Because Michigan imports most of its power," notes Strenski, "billions of dollars leave the state every year. If we make our own power, that money is injected back into our economy. If that power was created using panels from Michigan based companies, that would grow our economy and put us on track to export our know-how in solar technology."
Strenski is available to share information on solar power generation; through a grant from Recycle Ann Arbor, multi-media presentations are available to interested groups of 20 or more on solar power in general and on local solar projects, such as the Food Co-op's. For information on a presentation, email dave@strenski.com or call the Ypsilanti Food Co-op at 483-1520.
Pat Grimes is a longtime Ypsilanti resident and freelance writer for The Courier. He can be reached at psher mang@yahoo.com
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