Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is using eminent domain to take over blighted neighborhoods and install solar farms he hopes will offset electricity used by the city’s 127 buildings.
The Monday announcement from Duggan that the city’s solar farm initiative will consume swaths of the Gratiot-Findlay, Van Dyke-Lynch and State Fair neighborhoods follows two weeks after the mayor made clear he’s not seeking a fourth term, sparking speculation he’s eyeing the governor’s mansion in 2026.
“Today, Detroit takes a step into a major national leadership role in fighting climate change,” Duggan said. Detroit’s “127 city buildings are currently powered by 33 megawatts of energy per year from traditional sources, largely fossil fuels. In the next two years, we are going to build solar fields that are going to produce that 33 megawatts of energy in renewable energy, effectively generating all the power for city buildings from solar fields.”
The Detroit City Council approved measures this week to forge ahead with the plan. The city has already filed dozens of eminent domain lawsuits to acquire land, although Trisha Stein, the city’s chief strategy officer, told the Detroit Free Press those lawsuits represent less than 10% of the 900 parcels in the first phase.
“These are the most blighted areas of the city,” Duggan said. “We are not pushing a single owner-occupied homeowner out of these neighborhoods to build the solar fields.”
In the first phase, covering about 100 acres, owners of occupied homes signed an agreement to sell for $90,000, while renters will also receive taxpayer funds to relocate.
“If you’re a renter, we will be giving you money to move and 18 months free rent,” Duggan said. “If you are a landlord or you own vacant lots, we’re gonna pay your fair market value. We have sent the City Council the documents asking us to move forward in condemnation. Those folks will be treated fairly, but there’ll be more than 900 parcels we’re going to have to acquire in phase one.”
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Duggan said “the people how have owned the vacant houses and the landlords, they deserve a fair check” but made it clear “they don’t deserve to get rich in a neighborhood that’s been largely abandoned.”
In addition to the actual lots needed, the city plans to spend between $15,000 and $25,000 on each of 159 owner-occupied homes surrounding the neighborhoods. That spending will go towards energy efficiency upgrades, from new siding to smart thermostats to new windows and roofs, according to the Free Press.
The city is also offering to buy homes in five neighborhoods that are awaiting selection for a second phase, whether or not those homes are in the neighborhoods selected.
“We’re going to go to them in 30 or 60 days and say, ‘If you want to go ahead and sell anyway, we’ll buy it now whether we pick your zone or not.’ And if they want to do it, fine, if they don’t want to do it, fine,” Duggan said.
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The project is part of a broader Detroit Climate Strategy that requires the city to transition to renewable energy by 2034.
“The Neighborhood Solar initiative is the first step toward achieving these goals to address climate change in our city by providing clean energy, combat illegal dumping, and engaging communities and nonprofits to stabilize neighborhoods,” according to the city’s Solar Neighborhoods website. “The Detroit Climate Strategy set goals for the City to power 100% of its municipal buildings with clean energy by 2034 and a three-year target to work with utility provider and private property owners to source 50% of Detroit’s electricity from clean energy. “
The city is expected to maintain ownership of the acquired land and lease it to developers, including Boston-based Lightstart, which will build 63 acres of solar fields in the Gratiot-Findlay and State Fair neighborhoods, and DTE Electric Company, which will build out 40 acres in the Van Dyke-Lynch neighborhood.
The projected is funded by $14 million from the city’s utility conservation fund, and the federal Inflation Reduction Act.
“When President Biden passed that bill in 2022, this made it possible,” Duggan said. “Before that, you could not have financially afforded to do this. But what the president and the country have done is there is now 30% off of all of these costs.”
It’s expected to cost $1.1 million per year in net operating costs, or about $1.3 million less than what the city currently spends on addressing illegal dumping, mowing, police fire, and other costs in the three neighborhoods.
The project could also come with implications for the future, both in terms of Duggan’s political aspirations and the use of eminent domain, which permits the government to take private property for public use if the government pays just compensation.
The Michigan Supreme Court in 2004 restricted use of eminent domain, following controversy over its use to displace about 1,000 residents of Poletown East to construct a factory for General Motors.
In 2006, voters also approved Proposal 4, which codified the Supreme Court decision, required 125% of market value for property seized, and set other tight restrictions on the government seizing private property to convey it to another private owner.
Duggan is one of numerous Democrats expected to vie for governor in 2026, and his announcement last week suggests it’s a real possibility.
In October, Duggan garnered just 3% support from Democrats in an early poll of gubernatorial contenders, well behind U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 38% and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson at 18%.