going solar Archives | Citizens Utility Board

Planning your pathway to solar: Illinois Shines releases new solar financing fact sheet

Elizabeth — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 15:26:27 +0000

CUB encourages consumers interested in going solar to utilize Illinois Shines’ Solar Loan Financing resource to learn the many different ways homeowners can pay for solar projects. This is the second handout in the Illinois Power Agency’s (IPA) Homeowner Handout Series, which is part of an expanding resource library designed to help consumers make informed, confident decisions about going solar with the IPA-administered Illinois Shines program. “Now is the time to consider your solar options with the sunsetting of federal solar tax credits on December 31, 2025,” says CUB Solar Program Coordinator Grace Concialdi. “We’re glad this resource is available to help consumers considering a loan to finance their home solar panels.” The IPA has also released this resource in Spanish. This resource follows the first handout released this year, Illinois Shines: Selecting a Solar Company: Green and Red Flags. Upcoming Homeowner Handouts will cover buying and selling a home with an existing solar project. For more information on solar energy, read CUB’s free Solar Guide and visit our Clean Energy page.

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Ampion: CUB’s evaluation of a new community solar offer

Elizabeth — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 20:28:58 +0000

This is an evaluation of Ampion’s community solar offering. (If you are not already familiar with community solar, we recommend reading our Introduction to Community Solar first.) How will signing up for the Ampion community solar offer affect my electric bill? Ampion will look at your energy usage history to determine your subscription size, measured in kilowatts (kW). Each month your subscription will produce solar energy, measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Once the community solar project you are assigned to is completed, your monthly electric bill will be reduced by the community solar bill credits. You will also pay a second monthly bill to Ampion. Even though you are now receiving two bills, you will still save money overall. On your utility bill, you will see a credit for your community solar subscription. Ampion will bill you for the energy generated by your subscription, with a 10% discount applied. That’s where the savings come in. The total amount you save monthly will vary as the solar production of your subscription varies. Based on your billing cadence, you may see a delay of 1-2 billing cycles before your credits are automatically applied to your electric bill. What about alternative suppliers? All customers, regardless of their alternative electricity supplier, can now receive solar bill credits as part of a community solar program. Click here to learn more about alternative suppliers for consumers in ComEd territory and Ameren territory. What does CUB think about this offer? Community solar allows more Illinois consumers to enjoy the benefits of renewable energy, and CUB is pleased to see these offers hit the market. Ampion promises 10% savings over your utility’s energy supply price. Other community solar companies are offering 20% savings. Visit Solar in the Community to see CUB’s analysis of other offers available in Illinois. This chart summarizes key points about the Ampion deal: What utility territory does the company serve? Ameren and ComEd. Does the company offer savings? Yes. Ampion offers 10% off the utility default supply rate for the community solar bill credits you receive. Is there a credit check when I sign up? There is a soft check. What is the contract term? 5 years with 2-year auto-renewals Is there an “exit fee” for leaving the contract early? No. What are my billing options? Dual billing, autopay required. When will my subscription go live? When will I start to see credits on my utility bill? When you sign up for a community solar offer, you may experience a delay before you see credits on your utility bill. This is because the community solar garden to which you are assigned may not yet be completed. When working with an Ampion sales representative to sign up, ask what the estimated wait time will look like. The representative should be able to give you an estimate. What happens if I move? If you move within your current utility territory you can take your community solar subscription with you. If you move outside of the utility territory, you can either assign your subscription to someone else (that person must first properly enroll in the community solar program, including reviewing all […]

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CUB releases first-ever Solar Guide: new resource shows IL consumers how to secure clean, affordable energy with solar

Elizabeth — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 15:58:14 +0000

This Earth Week, CUB released its first-ever solar guide to help consumers learn more about and navigate their solar energy options in the state. CUB’s Guide to Solar is a free, comprehensive introduction to solar energy for your home. Written in plain, easy-to-understand language, the guide educates consumers on how solar panels work, provides an overview of solar programs available in Illinois, details solar financing options, and concludes with a solar glossary and other helpful resources. The guide also explains Illinois Solar for All, a program to help income-qualified households go solar, and it introduces consumers to Community Solar, a program that helps people enjoy the benefits of solar, even if they can’t put panels on their property. “With all the incentives available, there has never been a better time to take advantage of solar power in Illinois, but during this solar boom, people need a consumer advocate in their corner,” said Marina Minic, solar programs coordinator at CUB and one of the lead authors of the guide. “We hope this guide provides consumers with a helpful roadmap so they can navigate the technical details and the sales pitches to determine the best option for their own household.” Minic said the passage of Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in 2021 and the federal Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 created the most beneficial incentives in the history of the solar industry. Now consumers have more choices, and it’s not unusual to have solar sales representatives coming to your door. The 20-page guide is available for free on CUB’s website. For more information, check out CUB’s Clean Energy page and CUB’s Guide Catalog.

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Making a difference: CUB helps consumer find solar–and a $0 electric bill

Elizabeth — Fri, 20 May 2022 16:44:51 +0000

With CUB’s help, Bob Kaplow, a Dundee resident, participated in a solar group-buy program in 2019, and he saved money. The program, formerly Solarize Chicagoland, is now called Grow Solar and CUB will help promote it again in 2022. The program is led by CUB and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), with support from Chicagoland county and city partners: the City of Chicago, Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and Will. A group buy program uses the power of bulk purchasing to make solar more accessible and affordable for home and small-business owners. Grow Solar also facilitates a number of Solar Power Hour presentations for communities across the Chicagoland area. These educational events cover the basics of solar: the financials, your property’s solar readiness and how to participate in the Grow Solar program. Hi Bob, how did you hear about the Grow Solar Chicago program? I’ve been interested in installing solar panels for a few years and finally did after learning about the program’s group purchase incentives through a few CUB presentations. What was the process like? Good! I asked for quotes from three other solar vendors, and the group-by program provided the best deal. I secured great federal and state rebates on the solar panels, though those varied in when they’d return and for how much. The system should pay for itself completely in about five to six years. For eight months out of the year last year my electric bill was $0– even factoring in charging for an electric vehicle– thanks to a combination of net metering, hourly pricing (see below) and solar panels. What advice would you give someone considering the 2022 program? If you’re interested in buying solar panels for your home, get multiple bids to compare prices. This program was the best deal I found, which made me feel more confident in my decision. I prefer buying panels over leasing. Be careful about any programs offering you “free solar” through long-term leases. CUB has done a good job of informing consumers about the variety of options available. (Read a CUB blog on this issue on our Clean Energy page.) I also really benefited from combining my solar panels with my energy utility’s Hourly Pricing program. That way I’m able to charge my electric vehicle at night and sell electricity to the grid during peak energy hours to offset the costs. Were there any unexpected bonuses or surprises to the Grow Solar Chicago program? My system was set up with a smaller inverter that started clipping sooner than expected after installation. To fix this, the installer upgraded and installed a new inverter at no charge soon after the problems started. Now, I can use a website to read data on my home solar system from my smartphone and I even have room for four additional panels. [CUB Note: Clipping occurs when solar energy production is greater than the system’s inverter capacity, so some energy is lost. A small amount of clipping on peak days is expected, though not so frequently or so soon.] Would you recommend the program to a friend or family member? Absolutely– I had […]

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The best time to go solar? CUB says now

Hannah — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 19:16:37 +0000

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