Oakland County, MI Solar Energy: Panel Permits (2026)

Royal Oak's zoning ordinance, for example, permits solar energy systems as an accessory use in all districts and contains standards limiting the number and surface area of collectors, requiring architectural integration for arrays, addressing height and setbacks for roof- and ground-mounted systems, and requiring removal of any abandoned system (not used for 180 days or more). Bloomfield Township, Birmingham, Troy, Farmington Hills, and Pontiac issue building permits through their building departments. Electrical permits are also required (typically issued by the same local building department for solar installations under 50 kW). Inspections are done by the local electrical inspector. For systems interconnecting to DTE Energy or Consumers Energy, separate utility interconnection paperwork and net-metering/distributed-generation applications are required under MPSC rules. Large-scale (50+ MW) solar projects are now permitted at the state level via the MPSC under PA 233 of 2023, bypassing local zoning unless the municipality has adopted a Compatible Renewable Energy Ordinance.