Schools

Mercy High Inks Deal with DTE for Rooftop Solar Array

The Farmington Hills private school also achieves Michigan Green School Emerald status.

DTE Energy and in Farmington Hills have signed a 20-year agreement that will provide the utility’s customers with renewable energy generated from the sun.

The 400-kilowatt, $2.5 million photovoltaic system will be installed using 125,000 square feet of roof on the high school at 11 Mile and Middlebelt roads. The solar array should be operational in September.

The installation is part of DTE Energy’s pilot SolarCurrents program that calls for photovoltaic systems to be installed on customer rooftops or property over the next four years to generate 15 megawatts (MW) of electricity throughout southeast Michigan.

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"We’re pleased that Mercy High School will be the first private high school to participate in SolarCurrents, which is one of the largest distributed solar programs in the country," said Trevor Lauer, DTE Energy vice president, Marketing & Renewables. "We’re seeing that the program has encouraged the development of new renewable energy projects by providing financial incentives to non-residential customers interested in solar energy."

DTE Energy plans to invest more than $100 million in the program, which requires customers to participate for 20 years. The solar energy systems will be owned, installed, operated and maintained by the company. In return, customers get an annual credit on their energy bills, as well as one-time, upfront construction payments to cover any inconvenience during installation.

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"Mercy High School is thrilled to partner with DTE Energy in this exciting solar energy venture,” said Cheryl Delaney Kreger, Mercy High School president. “We are honored to be a Michigan Green School and know that leading this initiative will continue to make a difference in our community."

Through the efforts of the school's GREEN Club, Mercy has been recognized this year as an official Michigan Green School - Emerald Level. To earn the designation, GREEN Club members documented various environmental activities such as cell phone and battery recycling; promoting a school-wide effort to reduce energy consumption and reduce, reuse, and recycle in the school.

In the past two years, Mercy also has installed variable frequency drives on its large air handler drive motors and installed high-efficiency lighting and occupancy sensors throughout the building and in its parking lot. Mercy is also taking steps to more efficiently control its heating and air conditioning.

Michigan Green Schools is a non-profit 501(c)3 agency dedicated to assisting all Michigan schools, public and private. More than 20 environmental points are available to achieve the honor. Scoring 10 to 14 earns Green status, 15 to 19 points earns Emerald and earning more than 20 points achieves the highest level, Evergreen.

To learn more about the solar program, visit dteenergy.com/solar.


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