By: Derrick Mason
FREEPORT — As both city and county leaders discuss potential solar energy projects, one local company has already made a commitment to bringing renewable energy to the area.
Leaders at Fosler Construction have created a new company, Fosler Solar, which will focus on commercial, residential and agricultural installations. Company President Bjorn Thorsland started in early September and comes to Freeport with 10 years in the solar industry, most recently at Tesla.
"The unique thing about this market is that in most markets it's kind of either (residential or commercial)," Thorsland said. "The residential value proposition is really strong, but you can't really make commercial work, or vice versa. Here, it's all of the above."
Illinois' goal is to produce 25 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2025. There are multiple state and federal incentives to help home and business owners recoup portions of the cost of an installation.
The state's Solar Renewable Energy Credits program grants one sellable credit to homeowners for each megawatt hour of electricity their solar system produces. One credit from a small-scale system sold for approximately $180 during spring 2017. A small-scale seven kilowatt system could generate about 8,000 kilowatt-hours each year, which means an Illinois homeowner could receive $1,440 per year in additional income, according to energysage.com.
"Illinois is by far the strongest market for solar energy right now," Thorsland said. "The incentives are just really great and they're really going to move the needle after people start catching on to them."
Solar energy has become an important topic within the city of Freeport in recent months as well. The City Council on Sept. 17 approved ordinances that will allow residents and developers to more easily add installations to their properties. The city is pursuing a SolSmart designation from the International City/County Management Association and The Solar Foundation to signify to prospective new residents and business owners that the community is solar-friendly.
Residential solar installations are completely customized by Fosler and will take into account how much space is available and the homeowner's traditional electricity consumption. The goal is to match the size of the installation with the homeowner's energy needs so that there is no need to buy kilowatt hours from ComEd at the end of the month.
The installation is either paid for upfront or financed through a bank. There are no monthly energy bills from Fosler, as the owner is still connected to ComEd's grid.
Read More >> http://www.journalstandard.com/news/20180927/local-construction-company-creates-solar-division
No comments:
Post a Comment