ANN ARBOR – For decades, solar power has followed a familiar formula: rigid, flat panels mounted on rooftops or spread across open fields. Those panels have helped Michigan steadily expand its solar footprint — even in a state better known for cloud cover than desert sun.

Now, researchers are developing a new class of photovoltaic technology that could fundamentally change where and how solar energy is used — particularly in urban and industrial environments across Michigan.

Instead of flat panels, the future may look more like solar fabric.

What Is HelioSkin?

A research team at Cornell University has developed HelioSkin, a flexible, bio-inspired photovoltaic material designed to wrap around buildings rather than sit on top of them.

Unlike traditional panels, HelioSkin functions as a customizable “solar skin” that can conform to curved or vertical surfaces — walls, columns, façades, and architectural features that are largely unusable with today’s rigid solar hardware.

The technology draws inspiration from how plants orient themselves toward sunlight, using geometry and advanced materials to optimize light capture across irregular surfaces.

While still in the research and prototype stage, HelioSkin points toward a future where solar power is integrated directly into the structure of buildings — not added as an afterthought.

Why This Matters for Michigan

Michigan’s solar market faces a unique set of constraints and opportunities:

  • Limited rooftop space in dense cities like Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor

  • Industrial and commercial buildings with large vertical surfaces

  • Manufacturing and automotive facilities where roof loads and design restrictions can limit solar deployment

  • A growing push for electrification — from electric vehicles to data centers and advanced manufacturing

Flexible, building-integrated solar materials could help overcome some of those barriers by turning walls, façades, and even curved structures into power-generating assets.

For Michigan’s architecture, construction, and real-estate sectors, that opens new design possibilities — especially as cities push toward energy-efficient and net-zero buildings.

The Evolution of Solar Panels

Traditional photovoltaic panels have improved dramatically over the past two decades. Costs have fallen, efficiency has risen, and installation has become more streamlined.

But the underlying form factor hasn’t changed much.

That’s beginning to shift as researchers explore:

  • Flexible thin-film photovoltaics

  • Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)

  • Textile-based and polymer solar materials

  • Solar surfaces designed to blend into architecture

HelioSkin fits squarely into this next wave — not replacing conventional panels, but expanding where solar can realistically be deployed.

Michigan’s Solar Market Today

Michigan’s installed solar capacity has grown steadily, driven by a mix of utility-scale projects and residential installations. Large solar farms are increasingly common in rural areas, while rooftop solar continues to expand in suburban and urban markets.

Policy changes have also reshaped the market:

  • Michigan has moved from traditional net metering to an inflow/outflow compensation model, altering the economics of residential solar.

  • The state has passed laws limiting HOA restrictions on rooftop solar.

  • Utilities and regulators are grappling with how renewables fit into a grid facing rising demand from EVs, AI data centers, and electrified manufacturing.

Against that backdrop, technologies that allow solar generation without competing for roof space could prove especially valuable.

What Comes Next

HelioSkin is not commercially available yet, and researchers acknowledge it still trails conventional panels in raw efficiency per square foot. But its real promise lies in scale and placement — dramatically increasing the amount of surface area capable of producing power.

For Michigan, that could mean:

  • Solar façades on commercial buildings

  • Energy-generating industrial structures

  • Architecturally integrated solar in new developments

  • Expanded solar potential in dense urban cores

As Michigan continues to balance clean-energy goals with economic development and grid reliability, innovations like HelioSkin suggest solar’s future won’t just be flatter — it will be more flexible, more integrated, and more woven into the state’s built environment.

Takeaway

Traditional solar panels will remain the backbone of Michigan’s renewable energy growth for years to come. But the next phase of innovation may not be about squeezing more efficiency out of flat panels — it may be about rethinking what counts as a solar surface in the first place.