Solar power projects heat up across Michigan

By COLLEEN OTTE
Capital News Service
LANSING — Michigan’s solar future is so bright that advocates say you might have to wear shades. Assuming all goes as planned, Michigan may soon see a solar project nearly 50 times larger than its largest existing installation. The state’s biggest solar project now operating is a 1.1 megawatt generator owned by DTE Energy in Ann Arbor, said John Sarver, president of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association. “But there are much bigger projects planned, including 10 megawatts at Michigan State University and 20 megawatts with the Lansing Board of Water & Light,” Sarver said. DTE is constructing a 1.9-megawatt solar array that will be the largest in the state when it comes on line at the end of the year, said DTE communications specialist Vanessa Waters.