Ground-mounted SES with pollinator garden. Photo by Rob Davis
Program: Center for EmPowering Communities
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As Michigan utilities look to meet clean energy regulations and transition to renewables, this guide is available to help communities across the state address solar-energy-system, or SES, siting within their planning policies and zoning regulations. The guide illustrates how various scales and configurations of photovoltaic SES fit into landscape patterns ranging from rural to suburban to urban, equipping communities to make informed public policy decisions related to solar energy development.
Tailored to Michigan, the guide is written with local planners, officials, legal counsel, and policymakers in mind. It explains the current context of solar energy in Michigan, along with the various components and configurations of SES. It also offers principles around how SES might fit within various land-use patterns across the state and presents sample zoning-ordinance language.
The guide was developed by experts within MSU Extension and the MSU School of Planning, Design, and Construction, in partnership with the Graham Sustainability Institute. Further review was completed by content experts from local units of government, legal counsel, energy-related nonprofits, utility experts, and members of academia.