Detroit particulars
Detroit's Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) bills solar by the inspection visit. Its fee schedule, effective January 1, 2024, lists $165 per visit for a system with no utility-grid connection and $278 per inverter connection per visit for one tied to the grid, and each later installation inspection visit is $176. Because the grid-tied line counts inverter connections, ask how many your plan has. BSEED's number, per the city's page, is 313-224-2372.
Detroit licenses its own trades, too. LARA says Detroit issues its own licenses and registrations, so ask BSEED whether a state electrical contractor license is enough before anyone starts. Only DTE Electric (800-477-4747) has territory on the MPSC map that reaches Detroit, though your address is still worth checking with DTE. Under its Rider 18, power you draw is charged at the retail rate, power you send out is credited at the power supply rate, and the excess goes into a bank whose credits don't expire and can't be withdrawn.
DTE's Level 1 or Level 2 application is $50. BSEED's per-visit charges are the city's, separate from the installer's price, and the quote you accept should list them on their own lines.
Interconnection and permits in Detroit: what to know
Both rows are in Part E1 of BSEED's fee schedule. Each later installation inspection visit is $176. No date later than January 1, 2024 appears on the schedule, so before you compare quotes, ask BSEED whether a newer sheet has replaced it.
DTE's Level 1 and 2 application costs $50, and its overview puts the whole interconnection process at approximately six weeks. Because LARA says Detroit issues its own licenses and registrations, ask BSEED whether a state license alone is enough to pull the permit.
Permits for interconnection and permits in Detroit
The state electrical permit application asks for the contractor's Michigan license number, so the permit is pulled under it.
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.
- An application the utility hasn't answered yet.
- A permit sheet you haven't been able to find.
What to settle before the paperwork starts
Try this first: ask the installer how many inverter connections and inspection visits its permit line assumes, then compare that with BSEED's schedule.
- Ask who files the utility application and who pulls the city permit.
- Ask your building department for its current solar sheet and whether a building permit is also needed.
- Ask the company which of these fees its price includes.
- Look up its electrical contractor license number with LARA.
- Ask for the utility's approval to operate in writing before the final payment.
What interconnection and permits cost
The estimate below is the Michigan-wide one, adjusted for Michigan wages and not for Detroit in particular. The same table is on the interconnection and permits page. How we estimate costs. Prices as of Oct 23, 2026.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| DTE Rider 18 application, Level 1 and 2 | $50 | DTE's interconnection procedures dated July 1, 2026. Study or construction fees may apply if triggered. |
| Consumers Energy distributed generation application review, Levels 1 to 3 | $50 | Consumers' interconnection cost table. Supplemental review, system impact and facilities study are listed at $0. |
| Solar photovoltaic electrical permit, Detroit | $278 per inverter connection per visit (grid-connected); $165 per visit (no grid) | BSEED fee schedule effective January 1, 2024. A subsequent installation inspection visit is $176 each. |
| Electrical permit, alternative power, Grand Rapids | $42.00 for the first 10 kW, then $4.00 per added kW | FY2027 fee schedule, electrical. |
| Electrical permit, solar per kW, Royal Oak | $20.00 per kW | Master fee schedule effective July 1, 2025. |
| Electrical permit, alternative power, Wyoming | $40.00 for the system and first 10 kW, then $4.00 per added kW | Fee schedule effective 2026. The electrical application fee is $50.00 and includes one inspection. |
| Electrical permit, solar panels, Taylor | $19.00 per panel, plus a $50.00 application fee | 2025-2026 schedule. |
| Electrical permit, per PV module up to 20 kW, Kalamazoo | $7.00 per module, plus an $83.00 application fee | 2026 application. Residential PV also needs a building permit. |
| Expedited residential solar electrical permit, Ann Arbor | $0 for line-item solar fees | The city's 2020 checklist and fee sheet say it doesn't charge for them; an inspection is $35.00 if applicable. The city may have changed fees since. |
| Electrical permit, solar panel modules, East Lansing | $12 per module | City electrical permit fees, undated. The building side is separate: a $60 solar permit application fee, and $140 for systems under 10 kW covering the application and rough and final inspections. |
| Electrical permit, alternative energy up to 50 kW, Battle Creek | $50.00 | Schedule effective July 1, 2026. Per-panel rows of $2.00 and $1.00 are also printed; ask the city whether both apply. |
| State electrical permit schedule, solar photovoltaic system | $75.00 application, then $2.00 or $1.00 per panel | LARA's state form applies only where the state inspects, and its column layout is ambiguous. |
These rows are fees that utilities and cities publish, each with the date or fiscal year of the schedule. None is an installer's price, and the estimate model has no row for this service. Full method.
Questions about interconnection and permits
How long does DTE take to approve a solar system?
DTE says the process takes approximately six weeks. It has 10 business days to say whether an application is complete, and you have 60 business days to fix deficiencies.
How much does a solar permit cost in Michigan?
There's no statewide figure, because each city sets its own fee. The cities we cite run from $0 in Ann Arbor, on a 2020 sheet, to $278 per inverter connection per visit in Detroit.
Does Michigan require a building permit for solar too?
Many cities do, including Dearborn, Kalamazoo and East Lansing. Ask your building department what it needs.