ABOUT

The purpose of this website is to provide a map of the various locations where solar power is being generated within the City of Ypsilanti. It is maintained with volunteer labor by citizen supporters of the Ypsilanti Solar Project. Our goal is to provide a means for viewing how much solar power is being generated within the City at any given time. Dave Strenksi is heading the efforts for the project.

The Ypsilanti Solar Project was launched in 2005 when the Ypsilanti Food Co-operative won a grant from the State of Michigan's Department of Labor and Economic Growth to install a small demonstration solar photovoltaic system on their roof. Volunteers installed a 4-panel, 760-watt system on the roof, along with digital gauges on a wall in the store, which display how much energy is being generated.

As part of this initial grant, Food Co-operative volunteers created a traveling educational presentation to explain how solar power works in Michigan, and the advantages of tying our system to the local electricity grid. Through a grant administered by Recycle Ann Arbor, the Co-operative was able to raise additional funds by making this solar energy presentation widely available to the general public in the region, such that in 2007 we were able to purchase a fifth panel for the Co-operative. To date nearly a thousand people have attended these presentations, and the response has stimulated ideas and planning for new projects, along with new requests for presentations. If you would like to schedule a presentation for your group of 20 or more, contact the Ypsilanti Food Cooperative.

Meanwhile, with the help of DTE Energy, the Co-operative completed installation of all necessary hardware to connect its system to the electric grid, and is now among the first solar power generators in Michigan with a net-metering arrangement. Net-metering allows solar power systems to export excess power back to the local utility for credit, which can be used when the sun is not shining. We were also able to install utility meters that can be monitored remotely to provide data to this website.

In 2008 the Co-operative won two more grants from the State. The first is to install 12 solar panels to the back of Ypsilanti's City Hall building, and to add another 7 panels to the Co-operative. This project is underway and, similarly, the plan is to connect the City Hall system to the electric grid with net-metering capability, and monitor the power generated for educational purposes, with data accessible through this website.

The second 2008 grant is to fund an additional 30 panels for the Co-operative, to provide solar energy for the Co-operative's River Street Bakery.

In 2009 the project brought in Dr. William Sverdlik and Nik Estep, a student of his from from Eastern Michigan University's Computer Science Department to work on the remote monitoring of the Co-operative's solar installation. The work has produced the live data monitoring that is currently available on this website for the Co-operative. Data will be available from other sites as the panels get installed.

The Ypsilanti Food Co-operative completed the installation of the additional 7 solar panels in June of 2009. There are now 12 solar panels on the roof of the Co-operative producing electricity for the store. A computer was also installed in the store that displays the electricity chart from today as well as the current output and savings numbers.

In November 2009, 12 solar panels were installed on the Ypsilanti City Hall. In March of 2010, these panels were finally wired into the building and the panels are now generating electricity for City Hall. Online web metering, like is running for the Ypsilanti Food Cooperative, was launched a couple weeks later in April of 2010.

The Ypsilanti Solar Project welcomes your help. If you are interested in getting involved or learning more about how solar power works in Michigan, please contact us and "get on the map."

This page was last updated: April 2010