March 11, 2021 / 12:18pm / Julie McClure
Geothermal Urbana-Champaign is hosting four more Geo Power Hours to share about installing a geothermal energy system in your home or business. If you are in Champaign, Piatt, or Vermillion Counties, you have the opportunity to participate in a group-buy supported by the City of Urbana, Geothermal Alliance of Illinois (GAOI), Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA). From the press release: Geothermal Urbana-Champaign enables participants to effectively reduce energy use and reduce overall draw on the electricity grid. Geothermal provides a level of energy security in their community through the use of renewable thermal energy, while simultaneously conserving energy and lowering long-term energy costs.
The Petition was filed in Portage County Circuit Court. See Case Code: 30701.
MREA alleges that certain guidance documents issued by PSCW are beyond the limits of its statutory authority. The organization further argues that the guidance documents will impede solar and other clean energy development.
MREA first asserts in the Petition that the guidance documents have incorrectly asserted:
. . . broad jurisdiction over privately owned solar panels located on customers’ roofs and connected behind the utility meter to provide a partial alternative to buying electricity from the utility. Those guidance documents incorrectly assert that private solar generation financed through a mechanism called “third-party financing” constitutes a “public utility” subject to regulation (and effective prohibition).
Residential solar panels arenât cheap. Here s why one University City retiree decided to go for it
It wasn t just about saving the planet, says Bob McMullen. It also made economic sense in the long run.
Bob McMullen
The back half of Bob McMullenâs roof turned out to be the best spot for his solar panels. Heâs got six installed on the roofâs western hip, but there are no fewer than 13 crowding the rear, angled southward, gulping up maximum sun. Heâs showing me this from the grass behind his house in University City. The panels above us are
MREA is trying to get Wisconsin schools to use solar energy
It is an effort to help lower carbon emissions and cost of energy.
The MREA program s manager says each year, state schools collectively spend $175 million dollars on energy costs.
That is something she believes can easily be lowered and ultimately help students. Going solar and having renewable energy is a huge opportunity to lower that operating expense without cutting educational programming, MREA program manager Amanda Schienbeck said. We re really hoping to use schools as kind of that centerpiece to kind of push solar adoption even more than it already is in Wisconsin.
Midwest Renewable Energy Association says state creates barriers to alternative energy. //end headline wrapper ?>Solar panels. CC0 Creative Commons. Photo from pixabay.
A renewable energy group is suing state regulators about policies they argue stifle Wisconsin’s clean energy economy and interfere with residents’ and businesses’ ability to access alternative energy.
The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) filed a complaint Thursday in Portage County Circuit Court against the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC). The group argues regulators are going beyond their authority by preventing third-party financing when a third party pays the upfront cost of a solar installation, allowing the customer to lease solar power and pay it off over time.