By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – Buying in bulk is often cheaper – and a solar energy company is pushing that incentives to get more people to switch to renewable energy.
StraightUp Solar, which is based in St. Louis and has an office in Bloomington, is heading up the solar challenge by pushing discounts through a group buy program. Larissa Armstrong with Ecology Action Center that’s promoting the effort said energy incentives can reduce the cost to $5,000 which you could recover in about seven years through lower energy costs.
“We have really great incentives in our state right now and while those might renew themselves later, it’s really hard to bank on whether that will happen,” Armstrong said.
Bloomington-Normal residents have surpassed 100 kilowatts, to trigger a one percent discount, the next discount at two percent comes at 150 kilowatts. There is a three-percent discount for 250 kilowatts.
“The more people that end up with solar then I think more people will start to see it as a viable option for themselves,” Armstrong said. “It kind of creates a trickle effect where more people want to explore that avenue.”
The deadline to buy or express intent to buy is Friday. The deadline to sign a contract is oct. 31.
“MREA and EAC work together to educate those who are interested in going solar,” said Peter Murphy, solar program manager at MREA. “The goal is for folks to learn about solar, which can seem daunting at first, and then go into the process with eyes wide open.”
Armstrong added 15 home and business owners have taken part in the program since the group started holding Power Hour informational sessions in April.
StraightUp Solar brought the group by program after launching a similar effort in Champaign-Urbana.
Eric Stock can be reached at eric.stock@cumulus.com.
