Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, Michigan
Solarize Ann Arbor: Go Solar With Your Neighbors and Save
Detroit Based. Michigan Proud. A Participating Solarize Contractor.
Solarize Ann Arbor lets neighbors, friends, and homeowners associations buy solar together and share a bulk discount. The City of Ann Arbor runs the program. You form or join a group, the group collects competitive bids, and everyone who moves forward gets the same negotiated price. Strawberry Solar is one of the installers you can bid out.
70+ Reviews
Pearl Certified
Michigan Saves Authorized
BBB Accredited
Trusted Since 2010
The Program
What Is Solarize Ann Arbor?
Solarize Ann Arbor is a community bulk buy program run by the City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations. It is one of the projects inside A2ZERO, the city’s plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2030.
The idea is simple. A resident volunteers to host a group and invites neighbors, friends, or fellow HOA members. The group learns the basics of home solar together, gets its questions answered in one place, then collects competitive bids from installers who have signed on to the program. The host picks the installer, and every household in the group that moves forward gets the negotiated group price.
Anyone living in Washtenaw County can take part, not just residents inside Ann Arbor city limits. Roughly a quarter of installations through the program have happened outside the city.
Strawberry Solar is a Michigan solar company that has worked with Ann Arbor groups through the city’s solar campaigns. If your group bids us out, you get a local team that has been designing systems for Michigan roofs and Michigan winters since 2010.
How the Program Works
A resident hosts a group. Neighbors, friends, a street, or a homeowners association all count
The group learns about home solar together, with time for real questions and no sales pressure
The host collects competitive bids from participating installers and chooses one
Every household in the group that moves forward gets the same negotiated group price
The discount is tiered. The more households that go forward, the deeper the discount goes, up to 15%
All participating installers are Michigan Saves authorized, which means licenses, registration, and insurance are checked before they can take part
You can still get bids from outside the group if you want to compare
Who It Is For
Solarize Works for Groups of Every Size
You do not need a big organized campaign to take part. Most Solarize groups start with one person who is curious and a few neighbors who are willing to listen.
Neighborhoods
A street, a subdivision, or a few blocks that want to compare notes and buy together
Homeowners Associations
Michigan law now protects a member’s right to install solar, and an HOA is a natural ready-made group
Friends and Family
Groups do not have to be geographic. A group of friends across Washtenaw County counts
Washtenaw County Residents
Ypsilanti, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, and the surrounding townships are all eligible
Start a Group
What Hosting Actually Involves
Hosting sounds like more work than it is. The city handles the program side. Your job is to bring people together and make a decision.
Gather Your Group
Reach out to neighbors, your HOA, or a group of friends. There is no minimum to start the conversation, though larger groups unlock deeper discounts.
Set Up a Session
The city helps you organize a session where the group can learn how solar works, what it costs, and what it looks like on a Michigan roof. Questions get answered in front of everyone.
Collect Bids
Your group requests bids from participating installers. Each one is already signed on to the program’s negotiated discount tiers, so you are comparing on design, equipment, warranty, and service rather than on who gives the best pitch.
Pick One and Go
The host chooses the installer. From there each household gets its own site assessment, its own design, and its own contract, all at the group price.
Looking to join, not host?
Reach out to us and we can help connect you with existing Ann Arbor Solarize opportunities. You can also check out the City’s Solarize program at a2gov.org/solar.
Savings & Incentives
Stacking the Group Discount With Everything Else
The group buy discount is the headline, but it is not the only thing working in your favor.
Solarize Group Discount
Participants receive a tiered bulk buy discount of up to 15%, set by the program and based on how many households in your group move forward. The city reports that as of 2024, Solarize participants had collectively saved more than $2.3 million on upfront costs across roughly 690 installations.
A2ZERO Rebates
Ann Arbor residents can claim local rebates for battery storage and electrical panel upgrades through the A2ZERO program. These stack on top of the group discount. See our full solar incentives breakdown for current amounts.
Michigan Saves Financing
Every participating Solarize installer is a Michigan Saves authorized contractor, which is part of how the program vets who can take part. That also means low interest clean energy financing is on the table for your project.
Distributed Generation Credits
Michigan’s distributed generation program lets your system earn credits for the extra power you send back to DTE Energy, which lowers what you pay over the life of the system.
See What Your Group Could Save
Whether your group is five households or twenty five, we will walk through what the tiered discount means for your project and give each household a clear picture of production, savings, and financing. It is free and there is no obligation.
How It Works
Going Solar With Strawberry Solar
Whether you find us at a Solarize event or reach out directly, the path is the same. We handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on the decision.
1
Group Bid and Site Assessment
We submit a bid to your group at the program’s negotiated discount. Once your host selects us, every household gets its own free assessment. No two roofs are the same and we do not price them like they are.
2
Custom Design and Savings Estimate
We review your utility bills, model your roof with satellite imagery, and deliver a production and savings estimate built around your property and your budget.
3
Permitting and Utility Interconnection
We handle Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County permits and your DTE Energy interconnection paperwork. If you are in a historic district, we know the all black panel and hardware requirements and we design for them from the start.
4
Professional Installation
Our Michigan crews install to code, engineered for our snow load and seasonal conditions.
5
Activation, Monitoring, and Ongoing Support
We commission your system, set up monitoring, and back it with our 10 year workmanship warranty and local service for the long haul, not just installation day.
Why Strawberry Solar
Why Groups Choose Us
Local Michigan Team Since 2010
Detroit based with over 15 years of experience and deep knowledge of DTE territory, Washtenaw County permitting, and Michigan weather.
Pearl Certified and Michigan Saves Authorized
Credentialed and trusted for quality workmanship, with financing options built specifically for Michigan.
Manufacturer Agnostic
We recommend the best fit equipment for your property, not whatever we are told to sell. Honest system design, every time.
Full Turnkey Service
Design, permitting, installation, interconnection, monitoring, and support all under one roof, with our own master electricians rather than subcontracted crews.
Built for Michigan Conditions
Every system is engineered for snow load, ice, and our grey winters, so it performs year round.
One Group, One Standard
Every household in your group gets the same quality of design and workmanship, whether it is the first install or the twentieth.
We only work with brands we trust and would install on our own homes. We do this to ensure that every customer is satisfied with their solar setup.
Service Area
Serving Groups Across Washtenaw County
Solarize is open to anyone living in Washtenaw County, and we install throughout the county and the wider Michigan Lower Peninsula.
Ann Arbor
Ypsilanti
Saline
Dexter
Chelsea
Milan
Manchester
Whitmore Lake
Barton Hills
Pittsfield Township
Scio Township
Superior Township
Ann Arbor Township
Northfield Township
Salem Township
York Township
Lodi Township
Webster Township
Augusta Township
Bridgewater Township
Freedom Township
Lyndon Township
Sharon Township
Sylvan Township
Dexter Township
Service Area
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a community bulk buy solar program run by the City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations as part of the A2ZERO carbon neutrality plan. Residents form groups, collect competitive bids from participating installers, and everyone in the group who moves forward gets a negotiated discount.
Anyone living in Washtenaw County, not just inside Ann Arbor city limits. Homeowners associations and their members can take part as a group.
The discount is tiered and can reach 15%, depending on how many households in your group move forward and which installer the group selects. The tiers are pre-negotiated by the city, so every participating installer is working from the same structure.
Contact the City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations through a2gov.org/solar. They will either connect you with a group that is forming or help you host your own. You are also welcome to reach out to us directly with questions at any point.
No. You can request a free assessment from us any time. If you would rather go the group route, we are happy to help before, during, or after. If you want the straightforward version, see our page on solar panel installation in Ann Arbor.
The city opened participation to area installers who are authorized through Michigan Saves, which verifies licenses, registration, and insurance. Participating contractors agree to the program’s pre-negotiated tiered discounts. From there, the host of each group collects bids and picks one.
Strawberry Solar is an independent, Detroit based solar company. Solarize Ann Arbor is run by the City’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations, which sets the program terms and the discount tiers. The City does not endorse specific contractors.
Yes. The group buy price comes from the installer your host selected, and you are free to compare it against other bids. Most people find the group price hard to beat, but nobody is locked in.