Dearborn particulars
Dearborn's Residential Solar Checklist, updated January 23, 2025, requires both a building permit and an electrical permit. The electrical application has no PV line, so the checklist is where the fees are printed. Building administrative and plan review fees are "$100 administrative fee + $5 per $1,000 of construction cost with a maximum of $250," and the permit itself is "$100 + $15 for each additional $1,000 of construction value over $2,000." The electrical side reads "$100 + at least $80 depending on scope of work." Turnaround is 10 business days.
There's paperwork for the contractor, too. The electrical contractor needs a State of Michigan electrical license and must be registered with the city, and the building contractor needs a residential builder or maintenance and alteration license. Dearborn sits in DTE Electric territory on the MPSC map (confirm your address with DTE), and the checklist says DTE application fees range from $50 to $500, though most residential projects cost $50. The building and trade permits desk answers at 311 or 313-943-2150, per the city's page. If an installer suggests you pull the permits yourself, the checklist's own words are that the city "strongly discourages homeowners from applying directly."
Solar panel installation in Dearborn: what to know
Its Residential Solar Checklist, updated January 23, 2025, sets the building permit's administrative and plan review fees at $100 plus $5 per $1,000 of construction cost, capped at $250. The building permit itself is $100 plus $15 for each additional $1,000 of value over $2,000, and electrical is $100 plus at least $80 depending on scope.
A valid State of Michigan electrical license and city registration are on the list, and the city strongly discourages homeowners from applying directly. DTE's application fees, the checklist says, range from $50 to $500, with most residential projects costing $50. Turnaround is 10 business days.
Permits for solar panel installation in Dearborn
Electrical contracting in Michigan takes an electrical contractor license under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act, 2016 PA 407, Article 7 (MCL 339.5737(1)).
When to call 911 and when it can wait
- Smoke, a burning smell or fire at the inverter, panels or wiring is a 911 call. Leave the equipment alone.
- You're still comparing quotes and nothing is installed.
What to do before you ask for quotes
Try this first: ask the installer for its City of Dearborn registration along with its state electrical license number.
- Pull 12 months of electric bills: the utility sizes to 110 percent of that use.
- Get at least three bids, as the MPSC suggests.
- Ask each company for its electrical contractor license number and look it up with LARA.
- Ask for the list above in writing, as the quote guide explains.
What solar panel installation costs
The estimate below is the Michigan-wide one, adjusted for Michigan wages and not for Dearborn in particular. The same table is on the solar panel installation page. How we estimate costs. Prices as of Oct 23, 2026.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $16,900 to $23,400 for a typical 7 kW rooftop system, before any incentive | Built from 2 national published ranges, adjusted by the Michigan solar installer wage ratio (0.87) plus a typical permit fee ($94). Before any incentive: there is no federal credit for a system installed in 2026. |
| Estimated range per kilowatt of panels, not a quote | $2,400 to $3,325 per kilowatt (1,000 watts) of panels installed, before any incentive | Built from 2 national published ranges, adjusted by the Michigan solar installer wage ratio (0.87). Before any incentive: there is no federal credit for a system installed in 2026. |
| Solar photovoltaic installer wage, Michigan mean | $24.29 an hour | What installers are paid (BLS OEWS May 2025), not what you are charged. Only 310 people are in the Michigan estimate. |
| National median installed price, host-owned residential solar, 2025 | about $3.6 per watt before incentives ($3.0 cash, $4.5 loan-financed) | Berkeley Lab 2026 Data Update; national, read from chart labels. |
| Michigan average price, MPSC consumer tips, as of January 2023 | $3.77 per watt | Dated by the page; no source named. |
| Lansing BWL and the Ann Arbor Solarize FAQ, both undated | BWL about $3.00 per watt; Solarize average $3.13, range $2.70 to $3.80 | Municipal pages with no date; Solarize is southeast Michigan. |
How we estimate costs: the Estimated range row comes out of a model, so treat it as a planning figure and never as a quote. It takes 2 published national ranges for this job (cost guides from third-party sites that we haven't verified and don't cite) and multiplies them by Michigan's solar installer wage ratio to the US (0.87, BLS May 2025) and adds a typical permit fee ($94). The range is before any incentive: the federal residential clean energy credit does not apply to systems installed after December 31, 2025. The wage and permit rows are what installers are paid and what the city charges, and neither is a price. We have not collected quotes, and too few Michigan installers publish prices to show a range. Full method.
Questions about solar panel installation
Is there a federal tax credit for solar panels in Michigan in 2026?
No, the credit is not available for a system finished after December 31, 2025. Paying early doesn't help if the installation completes in 2026.
Does Michigan still have net metering?
New customers join the distributed generation program, which credits what you send out at the power supply rate, not the retail rate. Public Act 235 of 2023 raised the cap from 1 percent to 10 percent.
Will solar panels raise my property taxes in Michigan?
Not until the home is sold, for a system up to 150 kW whose output doesn't exceed your annual use (MCL 211.27(2)(p)). After a sale the assessor may add the system's value.