Solar for your home

Water heating

• More cost effective than solar PV
• Costs $5,000 to $6,000 for basic residential system
• State incentives and federal tax credits available
• More information at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Solar Hot Water for Homeowners

Photovoltaic or PV solar systems

• Convert sunlight directly into electricity
• Can connect to utility grid for backup power
• Power can be sold to MGE through Clean Power Partner or customer-owned generation rates
• Substantial state incentives and federal tax credits are available for qualifying systems
• More information and links to PV resources at NREL Photovoltaics for Homeowners

Wind for your home
A wind turbine can produce a significant portion of the electricity needed by a home or small business. Critical turbine siting criteria:

• Relatively high average wind speeds
• Sufficient space
• Suitable zoning codes

Properly designed wind generators can be connected to the utility grid and sell back electricity when more is being produced than used. State incentives are available for qualifying systems.

For more information and links to PV resources, see NREL Wind Energy for Homeowners.

Incentives and tax credits for renewable energy systems
The combination of Focus on Energy incentives and U.S. income tax credits can pay up to 50% on a solar PV electric system and up to 55% of the cost of a solar hot-water system.

• For information on state incentives, see the Focus on Energy Renewable Energy Incentives and Grants fact sheet. [PDF - 120 KB]
• Information on federal tax credits is available at the Tax Incentives Assistance Project.

Next steps

• First, make your home energy efficient. Reducing your initial energy use generally costs less and pays back faster than renewable systems. Visit MGE’s Saving Energy for information and ideas.
• After you make your home very efficient, investing in renewable energy can be the best step toward reducing your energy costs and environmental impacts.

For information about renewable energy assessments, consultations, contractors and more, visit Focus on Energy's Renewable Energy or call 1-800-762-7077.

Other Resources
Midwest Renewable Energy Association
Focus on Energy Renewable Info Library
Focus on Energy Solar Resources
U.S. Dept. of Energy - Consumer's Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
WisconSUN - Wisconsin Solar Energy Initiative

For More Information
Clean Power Partners
Customer-Owned (Parallel) Generation
Green Power Tomorrow: Frequently Asked Questions [PDF - 117 KB]
Kinds of Renewable Energy
Renewable Energy Rates