As part of Climate Week and National Clean Energy Week, today’s MI Environment story is courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Solar panels at Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery.

 

In 2021, the DNR received funding to install solar arrays at five fish hatcheries, which are the department’s highest energy users due to the equipment required for fish rearing. These arrays produced a whopping 652,131 kilowatt-hours between June 2023 and March 2024. The cost savings are equally impressive: an expected $89,000 in the first year of production and $2.5 million over 25 years!

The DNR also has led the redevelopment of a brownfield site to a solar field. Brownfields are lands that are contaminated from industrial use and often sit abandoned or unused. The site, Groveland Mine, a decommissioned mine in Dickinson County, is a prime example of giving a formerly contaminated site a new use with solar. The solar arrays planned for this site will generate 120 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 17,600 homes annually and provide $12 million in local property tax benefits. Check out the full story.