PITTSFIELD TWP., MI – A proposed solar farm near an old landfill in Pittsfield Township drew questions of cost and construction at a township forum Tuesday night.

Residents asked project and funding questions on the proposed partnership between the township, Ann Arbor and DTE Energy to develop a 70-acre solar array off Ellsworth and Stone School roads in the township at Ann Arbor’s public works site, the Wheeler Service Center. Energy harvested from the solar farm could power nearly all municipal operations in the city and township, officials said.

The project requires Pittsfield Township’s approval to alter the site’s zoning designation. Ann Arbor’s sustainability manager Missy Stults described the forum as part of the early stages -- “we’re at step 1.5 out of 10.”

A similar proposal failed to gain traction five years ago when township residents and the Board of Trustees opposed the array. The 2015 array was proposed at the city’s airport on Lohr Road, and township residents feared the solar panels would negatively impact the visuals of a nearby greenway.

DTE ultimately backed out of the 14-acre proposal, fearing the project was not viable because of township opposition.

At the Tuesday, Jan. 7 forum, Township Supervisor Mandy Grewal said township administration had concerns at the time that the infrastructure in the 2015 proposal was not appropriate for the site. She said the panels would have been drilled into the ground and that site may have been too soft.

The newly proposed solar farm would also be more than 20 times larger than the array proposed in 2015. It would have generated about one megawatt – this project would generate nearly 24 megawatts.

Many forum participants wondered who would pay for construction of the nearly 70-acre farm. DTE Senior Strategist Michael Rivet said in many large-scale solar projects, developers like DTE pay the upfront cost, then the user – in this case Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township – pays a levelized cost of energy, which includes both the cost of infrastructure and energy provided to the grid.

The cost is not yet set because the project feasibility must be determined first, Stults said Wednesday. A resolution to partner with DTE Energy on an engineering analysis and distribution study is expected to go to Ann Arbor City Council for approval Jan. 21, requiring the city to pay up to $90,000.

Rivet estimated a project of this size could cost as much as $50 million. But that doesn’t mean taxes must would rise to cover the costs, Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township officials told the forum.

“I think there’s a misnomer that whenever we invest in a new project ... that it is going to be positively correlated to increasing taxes,” Grewal said. “We have engaged in a multitude of different projects -- capital projects -- and also sort of changes in service provider rates over a long period of time and that does not positively correlate to an increase in taxes.”

The township will begin a technical review in the coming days before the site plan is sent to the township planning commission, township planning consultant Ben Carlisle said. He estimated it may take several months before it reaches the commission.

Pittsfield Township residents will have at least two more chances to share their opinions. The change in land use will require at least one public hearing before the Planning Commission and Board of Trustees.

The partnership between the two communities is part of larger plans to achieve energy sustainability goals, officials said. Ann Arbor set a goal carbon neutrality by 2030 in November 2019, and Pittsfield Township previously committed to use more renewable energy, though Grewal said it hasn’t made any headway on the goal.q

“This would be a huge step forward for Pittsfield Township,” she said.

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