DETROIT, Mich. — Eastside Community Network (ECN) is celebrating the completion of a new solar + battery storage system at the Stoudamire Wellness Hub on Detroit's east side, adding clean energy and backup power to a community hub serving approximately 4,000 people.
ECN will celebrate the solar project installation today during its Sustainability Summit, which also celebrates the first phase of the Angela Brown Wilson Gardens. Together, the projects bring green energy and the greening of ECN's campus together to support a healthier, more resilient community.
The Stoudamire project includes a completed 95 kW solar installation projected to save approximately $548,000 in energy costs. Solar + battery storage are part of ECN's larger neighborhood resilience hub, designed to lower electricity costs and help the building continue serving community members when power outages occur.
The clean energy project is one piece of ECN's broader work around health, sustainability and neighborhood resilience on Detroit's east side. ECN developed the long-term resilience vision for the Stoudamire Wellness Hub and leads the community work surrounding the project.
RE-volv provided financing and project support for the Stoudamire solar project. RE-volv works with community-serving nonprofits to make clean energy projects financially possible, particularly in underinvested communities where financing can be harder to access.
Cassan Arkema, Communications Manager at RE-volv, said: “ECN knew what they wanted Stoudamire to become: a place that can continue serving its community when the grid goes down. Our role was to help make the clean energy project financially possible. Now there is a completed system on the building that can lower ECN's electricity costs while adding another piece to its neighborhood resilience work.”
The project builds on years of resilience planning led by ECN and supported by several organizations with distinct roles. The Kresge Foundation provided early grant support for ECN's climate, health and resilience work. Clean Energy Group, working with Elevate and Ryter Cooperative Industries, provided early-stage technical assistance to evaluate energy use and solar + storage feasibility for resilience hubs on Detroit's east side. Elevate and the City of Detroit also worked with ECN on the broader Resilient Eastside Initiative.
The September 26 Sustainability Summit brings several pieces of ECN's neighborhood sustainability work together. In addition to the solar + storage ribbon cutting, ECN will celebrate the first phase of the Angela Brown Wilson Gardens, which extends the Stoudamire Wellness Hub's focus on wellness outdoors. The project will replace pavement with green buffers, trees and rain gardens to improve air quality and divert stormwater from the combined sewer system while creating spaces for outdoor recreation and learning.
The Summit includes a panel on sustainability and justice moderated by Donna Givens Davidson and featuring Nayomi Cawthorne; Shannan Gibb-Randall of InSite Design Studio; Ali Dirul of Ryter Cooperative Industries; and Cassan Arkema, Communications Manager at RE-volv.
Attendees can also visit a resource fair and the MASH Market featuring local businesses, including Je Suis Fashion, Meet The Buzzbees LLC, Unique Monique Scented Candles LLC, Change Products, A Taste of Royalty, Worthy Haircare, Life Visions Distribution, Sheer Elegance LLC, Granny's Helpers, Be Her Boutique, The Lemon Lounge and Royalty Gardens.
The Sustainability Summit runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 26 at the Stoudamire Wellness Hub in Detroit.