Quad Cities Solar Co-op Surpassing Membership Goal 

The Quad Cities Solar Co-op launched on March 15, and has quickly blown past its membership goal of 50 residents. The solar co-op, a group formed to help residents go solar, just announced a new goal of 100 members.

The solar co-op, organized by non-profit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN), is free to join and open to homeowners and small business owners in the Quad Cities region. This includes residents in and around Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Dewey-Humboldt.

On Wednesday, March 22, SUN Arizona Program Director Adrian Keller and local partners hosted a Solar 101 presentation at the Prescott Public Library to talk to residents about solar and explain how going through the co-op works. More than 60 residents from across Yavapai County attended the event.

“It’s thrilling to see so much immediate interest in local solar from the community,” said  SUN Arizona Program Director Adrian Keller. “We know that the process and considerations can be complicated, so it was great to see so many folks come out to the event and get their questions answered.”

Together, co-op members will learn about solar energy and leverage their numbers to purchase individual solar systems at a competitive price and top quality. Solar United Neighbors has run solar co-ops across the state, ranging from 50 to 200 members, but this is the first one for Quad Cities area residents.

With so much initial interest, SUN has already put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) for solar installers to bid on the co-op. After collecting bids, SUN will facilitate a meeting for co-op members to select a single solar company to serve the group. Members are not obligated to purchase solar. Instead, they will have the option to individually purchase panels based on the selected installer’s group rate. SUN remains vendor-neutral through the selection process.

With the federal passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, co-op members will also have the opportunity to use the solar tax credit for residential solar. The residential solar tax credit saves homeowners 30% on the full cost of a solar installation. A similar tax credit is also available to small businesses, who are invited to take part in the co-op.

The solar co-op will also help participants consider battery storage, which, paired with solar, helps bolster the grid during extreme weather events like last summer’s monsoons. Thanks to the IRA, homeowners can take a 30% tax credit for battery storage for the next 10 years. The new legislation also makes it possible to receive the tax credit for stand-alone storage, no solar needed.

Partnering on the solar co-op are: Yavapai Climate Change Coalition, Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance, Sierra Club Yavapai Group and Interfaith Climate Action Team.

SUN has hosted 13 solar co-ops in Arizona since 2019. According to the group’s estimates, the 383 homes and businesses that now have solar panels because of co-ops represent 3,070 kW of solar power, $9 million in local solar spending and more than 89 million pounds of lifetime carbon offsets.

Individuals interested in going solar can learn more and sign up for the co-op at solarunitedneighbors.org/quadcities. QCBN

Courtesy Photo: Solar United Neighbors (SUN) hosts Solar 101 presentations for residents.