The City of Cadillac plans to turn a brownfield property into a five acres worth of solar panels. On October 15th, the city started to clean up a vacant lot to make way for a community solar garden.
Officials said Cadillac in partnership with Consumers Energy will be home to Michigan’s third community solar garden.
A community solar garden works not unlike a farm co-op. Customers who want to start using solar energy can subscribe to the program for around 10 dollars a month. Once the site is up and running, their house or business will start running off of renewable energy and they will also get a credit on their bill.
Consumers Energy spokesperson, Bryan Wheeler, said the location will produce enough energy to power “as many as 100 homes at a time.” He said the credit off the bill will get a bill credit depending on the amount of energy being produced each month.
Cadillac City Manager, Marcus Peccia, said the solar garden will bring positive changes to the community.
“This site has essentially been a blight in the community. The ability to get this site cleaned up and it is great for the environment and it is great for providing an opportunity for folks to tap into a renewable energy source.”
Peccia said the city plans to have the vacant lot cleaned up by mid-December and Consumers Energy plans to have the garden installed by spring.