Photo: Grow Solar - growsolar.org
Full Spectrum Solar panels house
House with Full Spectrum Solar panels
Dozens of Milwaukee households will be outfitted with solar energy installations thanks to a cooperative program between Habitat for Humanity and Wisconsin’s electric and natural gas utilities. The Grow Solar for Humanity initiative is a partnership with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association. It uses funding from the Focus on Energy program in which utilities assist residential and business customers in making cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades.
Installation of the solar systems began in November and will be completed in early 2023. Forty-nine Habitat for Humanity homes will get the upgrades. Thirty-five of them are in Milwaukee with remaining 14 scattered among Habitat for Humanity affiliates in the Chippewa Valley, Door County, Fox Cities, Lakeside, Dane County, Kenosha, Washington and Dodge Counties, Wisconsin River, Milwaukee, and St. Croix Valley. The Milwaukee homes are located mostly in the Harambee and Midtown neighborhoods.
“Habitat for Humanity is committed to helping Wisconsinites live in comfortable and affordable homes”, Focus on Energy Program Manager Scott Bloedorn said. “Building energy efficient homes is the most cost-effective way to control energy bills. By adding solar, Habitat for Humanity helps reduce energy costs even further.”
Photo: Grow Solar - growsolar.org
Northwind Solar panels house in Stevens Point
House in Stevens Point with solar panels installed by Northwind Solar
Clean, Sustainable Energy
The solar systems will be installed by Arch Solar, a local company which was awarded the contract in a competitive bidding process. "For Arch, these installations are exciting because they bring the financial and environmental value of solar power to communities who have not had much, if any, access to solar power in the past. The electricity from solar panels provides financial stability by both avoiding rising utility costs and significantly reducing energy bills, all by powering their home with a clean, sustainable energy source"’ says Dexter Peirce, an energy consultant at Arch Solar.
Arch Solar has previously partnered with the cities of Milwaukee and Madison to offer yearly group buys which help homeowners reduce the cost of installing solar systems in their neighborhoods.
Bri Dobiesz, marketing content coordinator for Arch Solar, said the installations will provide each Habitat for Humanity household with more than $1000 in utility bill savings in just the first year of commissioning. The systems are warranted for 30 years but are expected to deliver energy savings well beyond that.
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While the savings from solar are significant and long-lasting, initial costs are an impediment, especially for low-income homeowners. Costs for a typical two-story home are $15,000 or more. “That’s what has us so excited about this program,” said J.D. Smith, Arch Solar’s head of business development. “Most people in these neighborhoods have never had a chance to even consider solar as an option.”
Smith told Shepherd Express that an investment in solar also serves as a hedge against inflation and always fluctuating fuel costs. “Once the panels are installed and operating, it locks in those energy costs. They’ll never go up for those homeowners. They’ll never experience a rate hike,” he said. Smith also said the installation of solar systems at even one home in a neighborhood almost always spurs interest in “going solar” from other homeowners in that part of a city. He said it is his hope the Grow Solar for Humanity initiative will help increase awareness and understanding of the viability and economic potential of solar energy statewide.
