Ypsilanti powers up for the National Solar Tour

The National Solar Tour has six Ypsilanti hotspots on its map this year. On Saturday, October 1, between 10 and 4, the public can view solar panel installations at City Hall, Ypsi Food Coop, River Street Bakery, Adams S.T.E.M. Academy, a rental property at 403 S. Huron, and at the Corner Brewery. The Corner Brewery received clearance last week from the Ypsilanti Historic District Commission for the installation of 144 solar panels. That project will still be in progress on the tour date. "We're definitely making Ypsilanti a solar destination," says Dave Strenski, volunteer coordinator at SolarYpsi, a network of solar installations around the city. The six sites are all within walking distance of each other. Handouts and volunteers will be available at each location. SolarYpsi is also gaining national attention as the subject of a commercial recently filmed by Google. Solar energy generation figures at four of the sites can also be monitored online on the SolarYpsi website, which was designed by Nic Estep. Strenski will be adding the 403 S. Huron property later this fall, and the Corner Brewery installation should come online next year, he says. Strenski notes that while the first three installations – at City Hall, Ypsi Food Coop, and the River Street Bakery – were done by volunteers, the latter three on the tour are professional installations. Solar is catching fire in this small northern city where January temps don't stick much above 20. "We were the seed, and now people are doing it themselves," Strenski says. Source: Dave Strenski, volunteer coordinator at Solar Ypsi Writer: Tanya Muzumdar