DETROIT—Inovateus sees community relationships as an essential part of its strategy to accelerate the deployment of solar and build a brilliant tomorrow in the Midwest and beyond. But few projects have joined together the solar revolution and community redevelopment as profoundly as the O’Shea solar project now under way in west Detroit.
By the end of this year, what has been an abandoned park for several years will be transformed into an urban solar farm, one of the largest of its kind in the U.S. The project, a partnership between the city of Detroit (which owns the land) and local utility DTE Energy, also will include the rebuilding of playground and picnic areas, educational outreach, and job training and placement—including the hiring of local workers for the construction phase and future solar jobs.
The O’Shea project officially kicked off with a high-profile ground-breaking event on a gorgeous sunny morning last Friday. Dignitaries in attendance included U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, and DTE CEO Gerry Anderson, as well as other local politicians, DTE team members, community leaders, neighborhood residents, several media outlets, and contractor partners.
As the lead EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) partner on the project, Inovateus sent a healthy contingent to the event, with our exec VP John Jackson participating in the ceremonial “shoveling of dirt” photo opp. (That’s him on the left in the photo.) Other I-teammates included Nate Johnson, Meg Drean, John Bartkus, one of our closest advisers, Dom Morelli, and myself. Also in attendance representing other key contractors were Scott Walker of J. Ranck Electric as well as Gene Gardella and Matt Lentini of Barton Malow.
“I felt that every partner there wanted to work together on a common cause for the common good,” said Dom, who is deeply involved in sustainable community revitalization efforts with the Life Remodeled group in Detroit. “We are focusing on what we can do with O’Shea solar to benefit all involved.”
“The tax revenue is going to be $1 million over 20 years,” Mayor Duggan told the media, “but the benefit to the neighborhood is going to be dramatically more than that… I hope we are going to be talking about five or six more sites. We could build these solar panels around the city and provide power to residents more cheaply and use the land to for good purpose.”
Construction on the 2.44 MWDC (2.04 MWAC) ground-mount installation—consisting of nearly 7400 Suniva high-efficiency modules, SMA string inverters, and Solar FlexRack posted and ballasted racking systems—will be completed by the end of the year. Once interconnected to the utility grid, the array will supply enough clean electricity for the equivalent of 450 homes.
As I looked around the park during the ceremony, I was struck by the rusted backstop on the old baseball diamond, the vacant field that once rang with the cries of children playing, and the rundown recreation center building. I smiled, knowing that Inovateus would soon be helping to turn this neglected acreage toward the solar light, that in a few months’ time families would return and enjoy themselves in the park once again.
O’Shea Park Solar Project Press Conference video: https://youtu.be/8zA7AwwX6lg
By Holly Oake, senior project coordinator, Inovateus Solar
