Solar power in Michigan has been growing in recent years due to new technological improvements, falling solar prices and a variety of regulatory actions and financial incentives. The largest solar farm in Michigan is Assembly Solar, completed in 2022, which has 347 MW of capacity. Small-scale solar provided 50% of Michigan solar electricity as recently as 2020 but multiple solar farms in the 100 MW to 200 MW range are proposed to be completed by the middle of the decade. Although among the lowest U.S. states for solar irradiance, Michigan mostly lies farther south than Germany where solar power is heavily deployed. Michigan is expected to use 120 TWh per year in 2030. To reach a 100% solar electrical grid would require 2.4% of Michigan's land area to host 108 GW of installed capacity.[1]
Michigan had over 1,444 MW of solar capacity by the end of 2023.[2] December 2020 marked a high point with over 105 MW brought online in that month alone. December 2021 saw 110 MW added.[3] In 2016, solar provided only about 0.25% of all electricity.[4] This rose to 1.3% in 2023.[5]
- ^ "Michigan Renewable Resource Assessment - Final Report" (PDF).
- ^ "Michigan Solar". Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Retrieved April 28, 2024.
- ^ "Table 6.3. New Utility Scale Generating Units by Operating Company, Plant, and Month, Electric Power Monthly, U.S. Energy Information Administration".
- ^ "Michigan Solar".
- ^ "Michigan Solar". Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Retrieved March 16, 2021.