COLLINSVILLE - October 8, 2018. Solarize Metro East has achieved another milestone, reducing costs for solar power, and improving on past results with a nearly twofold increase in solar installations through the program. The group purchasing program for homeowners, renters, businesses, and non-profits includes price breaks as the group collectively reaches commitment milestones, most recently 500 kW, which earns all participants an additional rebate on their purchase price.
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Solarize Metro East is on track to double the results of last year’s Solarize Madison County / Glen Carbon program, which resulted in 293 kilowatts (kW) of solar on 38 properties.
This year’s program benefits from a number of commercial solar installations, like that of Dave Macios of Creekside Gardens in Collinsville, and Dr. Mike Murphy, optometrist and owner of Vision Source in Swansea.
“I’ve always wanted to go solar, mainly for environmental reasons, and looked into it years ago,” said Macios. “Today, with the incentives offered, it really makes sense financially. The Solarize Metro East program was the clincher for me.” Creekside Gardens is hosting a public Solar Open House on Saturday October 20th from 10am-2pm with tours given throughout the day to demonstrate the power of clean energy from a local business’s perspective.
"Solar energy pays for itself,” said Murphy. “Why not control the cost of (or eliminate the cost of) something you must use every day and otherwise have to pay ever increasing rates?"
The Solarize Metro East program’s success results also from both the increasing popularity of solar and Illinois’ position in the the spotlight of the solar industry: the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) has improved the incentive landscape for solar owners.
The Solarize program, which ends on October 31, invites Madison County and St. Clair County residents to encourage friends, families, and coworkers to join them in attending one of four remaining free non-profit-sponsored Solar Power Hours to learn more about solar energy and potentially invest in affordable solar. Regardless of where a person lives in the counties, residents may attend either of the two remaining educational events:
Solarize Metro East is administered by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) at no cost to the counties. This type of program has been successful in other jurisdictions in Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin, and as seen in Madison County as well as Urbana-Champaign, Bloomington-Normal, Milwaukee, and Cedar Rapids.
Solarize Metro East is also sponsored by the Lewis and Clark Community College, Sierra Club, Madison County Resource Management, the cities of Belleville and Columbia, and Glen Carbon Cool Cities Committee, one of several Cool Cities in Illinois established by the Sierra Club over the past several years.
A solar installation company headquartered in St. Louis with offices in Swansea, StraightUp Solar, was selected through a competitive proposal process on the basis of quality workmanship and local experience to provide free solar site assessments and solar installations for the program participants.
The MREA was incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit shortly after the first Energy Fair in 1990. MREA’s mission is to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable living through education and demonstration. To learn more, call 715-592-6595 or visit www.midwestrenew.org.
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