DCEC Solar Power Hour

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Solar Power Hour

More than 30 people packed a room inside of Naperville’s Municipal Center for the DuPage Clean Energy Coalition’s Solar Power Hour. Participants learned the implications of renewable energy and the cost of owning solar panels.

According to local experts, if you’re thinking about buying some it’s better to do so sooner rather than later.

“If you’re thinking about going solar, right now is when you really want to do it because at the end of the year, the federal tax rebates are going to run from 30%, which they are currently, down to 26%,” said Jodi Traddler chair for Naperville’s Environment & Sustainability Task Force. “And they’re going continually dramatically drop off each year after that.”

After 2022, federal tax rebates for residential solar panel owners will no longer exist.

How Much Does It Cost?

If you want to be a solar panel owner costs range around $10,000 for homes and it’s even more for businesses. But, once you own them you can save some money thanks to net metering.

“That means the utility company is crediting you at the same rate that you’re buying electricity from them. And that’s the best for the consumer,” said Christina Uzzo, the environmental outreach coordinator at Citizens Utility Board. “We’re lucky that ComEd and Naperville that they have those strong policies.”

Naperville News 17 Christian Canizal reports.

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