Mayor's Office

Yesterday I joined area renewable energy champions to showcase the solar installation at Linden Cohousing on Madison’s near east side. Linden Cohousing was the first MadiSUN Backyard Solar Grant recipient to energize their solar array. The 84 kW project will offset 90% of the electricity used in the building’s common areas and will take us one step closer to reaching the City’s goal of 100% Renewable Energy and Net-Zero Carbon.

Joining me yesterday was RENEW Wisconsin, nonprofit who administers the City’s MadiSUN program, Dane County’s Office of Energy and Climate Change, Arch Electric, and host Linden Cohousing. Thank you to all these stakeholders for their efforts in promoting solar throughout our region.

The MadiSUN Backyard Solar Grant provides funding for nonprofits and affordable housing providers to install solar on their rooftops. In just two years, MadiSUN's Backyard Grants helped install solar at six different affordable housing and nonprofit organizations, helping them reduce their utility bills and mitigate emissions.

MadiSUN also offers a Residential Group Buy that makes it simple for residents to install solar on their rooftops. Since 2016, nearly 200 homes have gone solar through the program, and now in 2021, the Residential Group Buy is available to all residents in Dane County through a grant through the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change.

For Madison businesses, the MadiSUN program offers incentives up to $5,000 to assist them in installing solar energy systems. Sixteen local businesses are now solar-powered thanks to the program, adding over 750 kilowatts of renewable energy to our City's businesses, enough to power over 150 households. 

In total, over 2 MEGAWATTS of solar capacity have been added through the three MadiSUN programs, enough to offset approximately 2,100 tons of carbon emissions every year! The solar projects installed through MadiSUN are helping our community in many ways. They create family-supporting jobs, reduce the City's emissions, and provide financial benefits to our residents. Solar energy is truly a win-win for our City.

Solving the climate crisis is more critical than ever. Our heatwaves are becoming hotter and more prolonged, and our rain events are becoming increasingly severe. We must do what we can to mitigate the local effects of climate change, and we must do it in a way that protects the entire community.

The MadiSUN Solar Energy Program is one of the key ways to fight climate change impacts in the City of Madison and expanding this program is part of my Climate Forward Agenda.

Links:

• MadiSUN https://madisunsolar.com/
• Climate Forward https://www.cityofmadison.com/mayor/blog/announcingclimate-forward