Locals Can Buy Into Solar Electricity Project

Barbara Arnold |

 

When I returned to Eau Claire, I looked into getting my electricity from the sun.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t. I had too many shade trees, and I couldn’t afford the initial investment of solar panel installation.

Now I can harness my power from the sun thanks to Xcel Energy’s new Solar*Connect Community Solar Garden Program. For an initial deposit of $200 per kilowatt, Xcel Energy electricity customers can subscribe to get their power from two solar gardens being built in Eau Claire and La Crosse counties.  It will be local, clean, and affordable energy. “We listened to our customers, and now we are doing the ‘heavy lifting’ for them, while also accomplishing our goal of reducing our carbon footprint on the environment,” says Xcel spokeswoman Chris Ouellette.

The price of the electricity and the bill credit customers will receive will vary depending on how much they want solar to  power their home or business. (The web site below offers a calculator that people can use to find the cost and credit.)

Residents and businesses alike can tap into solar energy without installing or maintaining their own systems, according to an Xcel Energy Q&A fact sheet. The company says the program is especially desirable for renters or customers whose roofs are old, face the wrong direction, have limited space or excessive shade. Unlike earlier generation solar panels, the solar panels used today rely on ultra-violet (UV) rays, so they can generate electricity even on cloudy days, Ouellette says.

In March and April, Xcel Energy and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association will host 10 Solar Power Hours through western and northern Wisconsin during which Xcel Energy electricity customers can learn about the benefits of community solar and subscribe to the program. In the Chippewa Valley, upcoming sessions will be Wednesday, March 30, at 7pm at the Avalon Hotel, 1009 W. Park Ave., Chippewa Falls, and on Thursday, March 31, at 7pm at the Chippewa Valley Technical College Energy Education Center (that's on CVTC's West Campus), 4000 Campus Road, Eau Claire.

To learn more about the Solar*Connect program, visit www.xcelenergy.com/solarconnectcommunity