Search another area
State · United States

Michigan, United States

2.09TWh
every year, from one 325-watt panel on each of 5,544,900 buildings.

What that is equal to

🏠 199 thousand
homes powered for a year
at the US average of 10,500 kWh per household
🌍 776 thousand t
CO₂ avoided annually
displacing grid power at 0.371 kg CO₂e/kWh (EPA eGRID)
🚗 169 thousand
cars taken off the road
an average passenger vehicle emits 4.6 t CO₂e a year
⚡ 5.98 billion
electric vehicle miles
at roughly 0.35 kWh per mile

The pay-off

It pays for itself here. A panel on this roof delivers electricity at 10.1¢ a kWh against a local price of 22.0¢ — 54% cheaper than local power. The install is repaid after 11.1 years, inside the panel's 25-year life.
10.1¢ vs 22.0¢
cost per kWh: this panel vs the grid
levelised over 25 years including 0.5%/yr degradation
$4.99 billion
to fit every building here
5,544,900 panels at $900 installed each
11.1 years
to break even
saving $461 million a year area-wide at today's price

Assumes $900 to install one 325 W panel — hardware, mounting, microinverter, electrical work, labour and permitting — repaid only by the electricity it avoids buying. No subsidies, tax credits, net-metering premium, financing cost or future price rises are counted, and the figure is undiscounted. Electricity price is the MI residential average (EIA, May 2026). A single panel is unusually expensive per watt because it carries a whole array's fixed costs, which is why these numbers look worse than rooftop solar generally does.

How this is calculated

Buildings with roofs5,544,900
×  Panel rating325 W
×  Annual yield per panel here377.3 kWh
Annual generation2,092,316,052 kWh
Assumptions and limitations
  • Yield is specific to this location: 377.3 kWh per panel per year, from NASA POWER climatology transposed onto a tilted roof plane. The same panel makes roughly 596 kWh in Phoenix and 265 kWh in Anchorage.
  • Assumes a south-facing roof at a typical residential pitch, with a ~22% total system loss for soiling, shading, wiring, inverter, and heat.
  • Counts every above-ground structure with a footprint of at least 20 m², so garages and outbuildings are excluded but barns and sheds of real size are not. Building data is machine-derived and imperfect.
  • No account is taken of roof orientation, obstructions, structural condition, or whether the owner wants a panel.

Counties in Michigan

Wayne County · 343 GWhOakland County · 208 GWhMacomb County · 148 GWhKent County · 100 GWhGenesee County · 78.9 GWhWashtenaw County · 56 GWhIngham County · 49.3 GWhOttawa County · 46.1 GWhKalamazoo County · 42.7 GWhSaginaw County · 40.4 GWhSt. Clair County · 39.4 GWhLivingston County · 37 GWhMonroe County · 35.9 GWhBerrien County · 35.3 GWhJackson County · 34.6 GWhMuskegon County · 31.8 GWhAllegan County · 29.2 GWhCalhoun County · 29.1 GWhBay County · 24.1 GWhLenawee County · 24.1 GWhEaton County · 23.4 GWhGrand Traverse County · 22.1 GWhLapeer County · 22 GWhBarry County · 21 GWhVan Buren County · 19.5 GWhMidland County · 18.9 GWhClinton County · 18.7 GWhShiawassee County · 18 GWhMontcalm County · 17.4 GWhTuscola County · 15.6 GWhIonia County · 15.6 GWhSanilac County · 14.4 GWhSt. Joseph County · 15.3 GWhMarquette County · 13.8 GWhCass County · 14.9 GWhNewaygo County · 14.3 GWhIsabella County · 14 GWhHillsdale County · 14 GWhHuron County · 12.6 GWhChippewa County · 11.5 GWhBranch County · 12.6 GWhDelta County · 11.8 GWhClare County · 11.9 GWhRoscommon County · 11.4 GWhMecosta County · 11.2 GWhCheboygan County · 10.6 GWhGratiot County · 11.1 GWhGladwin County · 11.1 GWhIosco County · 10.4 GWhAlpena County · 10.1 GWhEmmet County · 9.67 GWhWexford County · 9.5 GWhAntrim County · 9.21 GWhOgemaw County · 9.3 GWhHoughton County · 8.77 GWhCharlevoix County · 8.49 GWhMenominee County · 8.77 GWhOsceola County · 8.81 GWhLeelanau County · 8.06 GWhOceana County · 8.04 GWhOtsego County · 7.45 GWhDickinson County · 7.17 GWhMason County · 7.59 GWhPresque Isle County · 7.41 GWhManistee County · 6.95 GWhKalkaska County · 6.75 GWhAlcona County · 6.65 GWhMackinac County · 5.94 GWhCrawford County · 6.33 GWhArenac County · 6.18 GWhMissaukee County · 5.84 GWhGogebic County · 5.82 GWhBenzie County · 5.19 GWhLake County · 5.35 GWhIron County · 5.1 GWhMontmorency County · 5.01 GWhOscoda County · 4.75 GWhOntonagon County · 3.62 GWhAlger County · 3.09 GWhSchoolcraft County · 3.02 GWhBaraga County · 2.71 GWhLuce County · 2.54 GWhKeweenaw County · 1.66 GWh

Metro areas in Michigan

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI · 797 GWhGrand Rapids-Kentwood, MI · 179 GWhLansing-East Lansing, MI · 109 GWhFlint, MI · 78.9 GWhSouth Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI · 65.6 GWhAnn Arbor, MI · 56 GWhTraverse City, MI · 42.2 GWhKalamazoo-Portage, MI · 42.7 GWhSaginaw, MI · 40.4 GWhMonroe, MI · 35.9 GWhNiles, MI · 35.3 GWhJackson, MI · 34.6 GWhMuskegon, MI · 31.8 GWhHolland, MI · 29.2 GWhBattle Creek, MI · 29.1 GWhMarinette, WI-MI · 25.2 GWhBay City, MI · 24.1 GWhAdrian, MI · 24.1 GWhMidland, MI · 18.9 GWhCadillac, MI · 15.3 GWhSturgis, MI · 15.3 GWhMarquette, MI · 13.8 GWhMount Pleasant, MI · 14 GWhHillsdale, MI · 14 GWhSault Ste. Marie, MI · 11.5 GWhColdwater, MI · 12.6 GWhEscanaba, MI · 11.8 GWhBig Rapids, MI · 11.2 GWhAlma, MI · 11.1 GWhHoughton, MI · 10.4 GWhIron Mountain, MI-WI · 10 GWhAlpena, MI · 10.1 GWhLudington, MI · 7.59 GWh

Places like Michigan

New York · 2.4 TWhOhio · 2.37 TWhPennsylvania · 2.31 TWhIllinois · 2.3 TWhNorth Carolina · 2.52 TWhGeorgia · 2.11 TWh