What are my options for solar power in Wisconsin/Midwest?

Question

I'd like to set up a Grid Tied system on a pretty large scale. I'm a total novice at the whole concept, and I live in Wisconsin, so I would think I would have some limits. Any help on the situation is accepted...Thank You.

Answer 1

The only limit is the amount of money that you have.  Focus on energy will give you a grant of up to 25% of the cost of the system but it has to be installed by one of their certified contractors.  You will have to look in to the local laws,  the town of grand chute (next to appleton) from what I understand has a temporary moritorium on energy systems.  Depending on what part of WI you are in you may get a good premium for your solar energy produced WE energies was paying 23.5cents/kw hour (over 2x the going rate) for solar.  I got a price last year of about $60,000 for a 5.2kw system with sun trackers to improve the output. That price was for a turn key install.

Answer 2

It will work fine. It will be VERY expensive power, but it will work fine. Just call your local supplier and have it installed. This is very old technology and is proven.

If you don't want to have to pay out the initial cost, look at the link below. They will install a good system basically free, and you just pay for the power it produces. You are guaranteed to only pay the same rate as you would have to your electric company, and the rate never changes.

Answer 3

It's viable to a certain degree, but due to the declination of the sun in the winter it's not all as efficient as it would be in the southern states.

Your electric/gas company would be a great place to start, I don't think they've ever turned anyone down attempting to turn their electric meter backwards!  

Also try:  http://www.solarelectricpower.org/  there are many resources there.

I have a smaller home based system it's not much, a 70w Sanyo based roof unit.  It really helps in the summer, but not so much in the winter.  Maintenance is really easy, just keep the panes clear of leaves/debris, and wash them about once a month.  Investment is kind of hefty,  but with the tax incentives and a couple of years it starts to give back.

Tax incentives are availabe in WI:  http://www.solarhome.org/solartaxincenti...

Keep in mind also, if you live in a breezy area a smaller 42ft high residential wind generator can be neat too!  But it helps to live in the right area for wind, check out your area here:  http://www.windpowermaps.org/default.asp

Good luck!

Answer 4

Invest in ones in the south.

I attended the Focus the Nation at Sierra College on 1-31-08. The event was the 2% Solution, a 2% reduction over 40 years to solve GW. Oil is a nonrenewable resource and we are running out-but not soon - $30 Gal for gas. The 2% Solution is ok for the USA for a 10 year plan to cut 20%. But over those 10 years, we have to be building renewable energy and about that time, we can cut an additional 20%. This should get us from importing any oil. We must have a pollution surcharge where we pay the real price (health effects, GW and cleanup) for oil, NG, coal, cigarettes, Cooling Towers, Cars, trains and airplanes. Humans have to put some of this nonrenewable into renewable energy like small hydro-electric dams, concentrating solar power plants, wind and wave machines, nuks, and geothermal. With the peak of oil in the 1970’s, peak NG in the 1990’s, having mined cheep coal, the peak of ocean fishing in the 1980’s, and the peak of uranium in the 1990’s, humans must stop procrastinating and make real changes to keep earth sustainable including in the energy debate, finance and regulation.

Many of mankind’s advancements cause earth surface to warm, destroy the ozone layer, kill off endanger species, heat cities, and in some way cause more dramatic destruction.  Blacktop and buildings (roads, roofs and parking lots-heat cities), deforestation (air pollution, soil erosion), duststorms (increase hurricanes and cyclones, cause lung diseases), fires (cause pollution, mud slides, and deforestation), refrigerants (like CFC's) and solvents (including benzene destroy the ozone layer raising skin cancer rates) and plastics; cars, airplanes, ships and most electricity production (causes pollution including raised CO2 levels and increased lung and other diseases); these human problems we must fix to keep life on earth sustainable! Humans have destroyed half of the wetlands, cut down nearly half of the rain forest, and advance on the earths grasslands while advancing desertification which increases duststorms.

The result is:  change is on the way, we just do not know what changes (where and when). Look beyond the hype, beyond the weather, beyond a quarterly report and beyond today. President Bush has made a choice of energy (ethanol) over food and feeding the starving people around the world; this is a choice China has rejected. The fact is Bush wants to buy your food to send to starving people since our is not available.

Over the next 90 years carbon dioxide is projected to skyrocket as human’s burn more fossil fuels. The problem is, the oil will be gone in 30 years at present rates of consumption without projected increases. We have to come up with what will take its place. Again we have to cleanup our mess. One of the big problems we have is at some time Yellowstone will blow its top again, as the magma move closer to the surface, creating a nuk winter. After that we will not have to worry about the destruction of the ozone layer.

But with that we must understand we have never seen what is now happening before. CO2 has never lead to temperature change, but temperature change has led to increases in CO2. The models have to be made as we go along with current evidence! But again adding a small amount of CO2 to the atmosphere enlarges the earths sun collection causing warming; increase water in the atmosphere and it forms clouds cooling earth but sometimes causing flooding. Even natural events are warming earth and causing destruction. The sun has an increased magnetic field causing increases in earthquakes (more destruction), volcanoes (wow, great destruction), and sun spots. Lighting produces ozone near the surface (raising air pollution levels). The USA Mayor's have taken a stand and I believe are on the right track, we can have control and can have economic growth. The sun is available to produce energy, bring light to buildings and makes most of human’s fresh water. Composting is the answer to desertification. New dams are the answer to fresh water storage, energy and cooling earth by evaporation, we need many small ones all over (California needs 100 by 2012 and has not even started).

That is why I founded CoolingEarth.org, a geoengineering web sight where you can learn more about earth, the atmosphere, and how to sustain life on earth’s surface.