Milwaukee officials promote 2024 Grow Solar program - Daily Reporter

Milwaukee officials promote 2024 Grow Solar program

By: Ethan Duran//May 29, 2024//

Solar panels on a Lake Drive home roof in Milwaukee on May 28, 2024. Staff photo by Ethan Duran

By: Ethan Duran//May 29, 2024//

Renewables groups, solar installers and Milwaukee officials announced a city residential solar campaign will return this year with a new residential solar installation in the city’s Historic Water Tower neighborhood.

Tuesday marked the start of the 2024 Grow Solar Greater Milwaukee Group Buy Program, which lets community members learn about residential solar and buy solar panels in bulk, officials said. The program offers cost savings and incentives that aren’t available to individual buyers, officials added.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, representatives from the city’s Environmental Collaboration Office, the Midwest Renewable Energy Association and solar installers Arch Electric and Full Spectrum Solar helped with the kickoff.

Encouraging residents to buy solar panels was one of the city’s reactions to the rapidly warming planet, Johnson said at a news conference. He spoke outside a house with 32 solar panels installed on the roof.

“All of us know this is happening and we’re seeing the effects not just here in Milwaukee but across the county and around the world,” Johnson said. “A rapidly warming planet and changing climate presents a new set of challenges, including in the city. How we respond to those challenges will shape the future of Milwaukee and our region,” he added.

Residents and small businesses in Milwaukee County can get free solar education and financing sessions, site assessments and cost estimates for custom solar systems through the Grow Solar program, officials said. The program also offers below-market rate costs for warrantied systems with reputable contractors, officials added.

Through bulk purchasing, the MREA offers solar customers rebates when they reach certain wattage benchmarks, said Jeff Schneider, an MREA solar program coordinator.

The Inflation Reduction Act extended federal tax credits for residential solar customers, officials noted.

“We’ve been trying to find ways to make solar more cost effective and think about the barriers to solar and overcome each one of those,” said Eric Shambarger, director of the city’s environmental office. “That includes financing, rebates, bulk pricing and education.”

More jobs for installers and electricians will be needed as more people opt into solar, said Jennifer Larson, the lead energy consultant at Arch Solar. The company is training electricians for future work, she added.

In 2023, the Milwaukee Solar Group Buy helped 339 owners add solar to their property, according to officials. With MREA as a sponsor, partners added 1.7 megawatts to Milwaukee homes last year. The program compared the offset of carbon emissions to 1.6 million pounds of coal being burned.

Group buying in Milwaukee dates to 2013. Since then, partners have installed 1,717 kilowatts of solar energy, according to MREA statistics.

The Grow Solar program will have educational sessions for interested owners called Power Hours. The next virtual sessions are June 13 and 18.

Installation at the Historic Water Tower home started when owner John Hambrook reached out to Larson. Arch Solar designed a system to cover the energy Hambrook used in a year and matched up to 100% of energy usage.

Hambrook said it took around six months to get permission from the city and installation took several days. A father of four and with neighbors who already had panels up, he said it was a concrete way to fight climate change.