By: Taylor Christensen | Royal Oak Review | Published June 4, 2026
ROYAL OAK — The Royal Oak Public Library has installed 300 solar panels the week of May 18 on the top of the building as part of its 2026 year one strategic implementation plan.
“It’s really exciting because the library should be an example of sustainability to the community. People check out books, they bring them home, they return them, so we have always been an example of sustainability,” Library Director Sandy Irwin said. “I think that this (the solar panels) provides a really great learning opportunity for the community about how solar works.”
This project began several years ago, according to Irwin, who said that it stemmed from when the city adopted the 2022 sustainability and climate action plan.
“We had some idea of what we wanted and what needed to happen back in 2024, so it’s been going since then,” she said. “The planning and engineering, some of it took a while to get that done, and then the actual bids went out last fall, and the Michigan Solar Solutions was awarded the bid, and we had to wait until the spring when the weather was going to be better to start.”
The solar panels were entirely paid for by a couple of grants, according to Irwin.
“Back in 2024 we received a $70,000 grant from a database provider, EBSCO, and so we also got $70,000 for the project. And when the city was going through the American Rescue Plan Act funds that they received, they decided to use that for the solar project,” Irwin said.
The library used $350,000 in ARPA funds for the $400,000 project.
The panels are expected to produce over 200,000 kilowatt-hours per year of offset energy, which will in turn save the library around $28,000 a year.
“We are offsetting energy, and basically that estimates out to we are hoping for $28,000 energy savings. It’s going to be going right back to the grid, so we don’t have a battery system there, but basically it should, if everything works well, it should offset most of the energy (grid supplied electricity, and carbon emissions) especially during the summer months that it produces,” said Devan Dodge-Frye, Royal Oak sustainability manager.
The library is the first building in Royal Oak to install solar panels, which is a big milestone, according to Dodge-Frye.
“I know the city has been dreaming of this well before the SCAP (sustainability and climate action plan) was developed. I think it’s been at least a decade. I started back in July, and this project was already being talked about,” she said. “We are very excited. Our City Commission was very supportive.”
Irwin said that this year, the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the library is estimated to have spent $70,000 in electricity for the library, so saving $28,000 is a big chunk that will help funds.
“The intention of getting solar and getting those savings should be fed into other plans, and so next year we should be getting new HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) … and all of those things will be much more sustainable than we have now,” Irwin said. “That will help continue to lessen the greenhouse gas emissions and reduce our power consumption. because it’s going to be much more efficient.”
Dodge-Frye said that the system should be producing energy within the first week of June.
“Then we will have a little bit of a timeframe where we are playing with it, making sure things are working right, and so Michigan Solar Solutions will be on-site for the next month or two, just making sure that everything is operating correctly and nothing is malfunctioning,” she said.
For more information on the Royal Oak Public Library, visit ropl.org.