Metro East Sun

Madison County residents can now catch some sun and savings at the same time, as several agencies have joined together to offer the “Solarize Madison County/Glen Carbon” program and make solar installation more widely affordable to residents and business owners.

“I am thrilled we are working with residents, businesses, farms and other organizations throughout Madison County in order to save them money on solar installations and their utility bills, while also helping the environment in the process,” Kim Petzing, Madison County’s sustainability coordinator, said.

Sponsored jointly by the Village of Glen Carbon, the Madison County Sustainability Program, the Glen Carbon Cool Cities Committee and the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), the initiative is based on the concept of bulk buying power. By pooling resources and purchasing collectively, participants can obtain substantial discounts on solar power and increase sustainability.

MREA is administering the program at no cost to local or county governments.

“We’re very excited to build on our recent success of group purchasing programs around Illinois with Solarize Madison County/Glen Carbon,” Peter Murphy, MREA solar program manager, said.

St. Louis-based StraightUp Solar was chosen as the installation vendor after a public bid.

"StraightUp Solar exists … to inspire a solar tribe to create a sustainable world," Mike Hornitschek, StraightUp’s strategic development director, said. “Solarize Madison County/Glen Carbon is an exciting opportunity for us to leverage our Illinois group solar leadership position to bring the benefits of high-quality, low-cost sustainable energy to Madison County and empower program participants to save money on their utility bills for the next 25-plus years.”

Residents can attend free hour-long seminars at various locations to learn more. The next “Solar Power Hour” is scheduled for 6 p.m. on March 30 at the Louis Latzer Memorial Public Library, 1001 Ninth St. in Highland.

April seminars are slated in Alton, Edwardsville, New Douglas and Granite City. During May and June, the seminars will be held in additional Alton and Edwardsville venues, plus Troy, Hamel and Highland. For a complete schedule, visit http://www.growsolar.org/solarize-mcgc/#breadcrumbs.