Jocelyn Benson's Deep Ties to an Ann Arbor Solar Company
David Friedrichs' Homeland Solar has gotten massive checks from the city of Ann Arbor and helped Michigan develop its climate roadmap
Just when Jocelyn Benson was beginning to distance herself from her husband’s unpopular data centers in Michigan, a Michigan Enjoyer investigation found familial ties to solar, energy, and housing projects.
Washtenaw County based Homeland Solar LLC, recently changed to Homeland Builders LLC, is owned by David Friedrichs, Jocelyn Benson’s father-in-law. Is she trying to distance herself from the family’s solar projects as well by changing the name of the business?
Homeland’s municipal, state, and federal projects include:
- $3 million in ARPA funds from the City of Ann Arbor to install solar, battery storage units, and EV charging stations at nine city facilities, parks, and senior living centers.
- $594,000 from the Michigan Public Service Commission for solar panels on low-income homes as part of the Bryant neighborhood decarbonization project.
- $364,600 for solar panels and EV charging stations at Bicentennial Park, through grants through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- Nearly $1 million from Ann Arbor Public Schools to install solar as a part of their ongoing building renovations.
- $370,000 to the Ann Arbor Housing Development Corporation for solar installations at the Creekside Court affordable-housing complex through a federal grant.
Homeland Solar is a member of the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, a trade association and registered lobbying firm representing clean-energy companies and advocating for solar, wind, and other renewable, unreliable sources of energy as part of Whitmer’s energy mandates.
Homeland Solar also appears as a contributor in a roadmap for the MI Healthy Climate Plan, commissioned by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to expand solar in Michigan.
Several pages of the recommendation are focused on DEI issues, particularly improving EGLE’s reputation with Detroit and the perception around solar.
How can we expect any relief from Whitmer’s excessive energy mandates if our next governor’s family is involved in promoting and making money off the solar industry?
Jocelyn Benson’s trying to distract us from her husband’s connections to data centers by suggesting Michigan install a network of high-speed rail. You’ll never guess who else shares a similar dream.
In a Crain’s Detroit opinion piece, Dave Friedrichs talked about his dream of high-speed rail in Detroit, saying Detroit should “complete the missing rail link infrastructure” by installing a high-speed rail to Canada, dubbed the “Tunnel of Dreams.” He says he hopes to see it in his lifetime.
If elected governor, will his daughter-in-law assist him in making his dreams come true? Or will she be too busy helping her husband install data centers and procuring solar contracts for the Friedrichs family?
