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HIGHLAND - If you’re considering switching to solar for your home or business, the time to act may be sooner rather than later. As solar energy billing changes take effect in 2025, new solar customers stand to benefit less than those whose systems are installed and approved by December 13, 2024.
According to Ameren Illinois, a state law will bring changes to a practice known as “net metering.” Currently, solar customers who generate excess electricity, which gets sent back to the energy grid, receive credit towards their energy bill. As of now, those credits are applied to their entire energy bill - but after Dec. 31, 2024, those credits will only be applied to the “supply and transmission” portions of their bill.
While the changes themselves take place after Dec. 31, 2024, the actual deadline for new installations is weeks earlier; Ameren states that “all required documentation, including Witness Testing, must be received by Ameren Illinois no later than 5 p.m. Central Time on December 13, 2024.”
Grid Solar Co-Owner Ryan Wagner appeared on Our Daily Show! on Riverbender.com to lend his solar expertise to explain how this impacts his business, customers, and more. The most immediate effect of these incoming changes has been a spike in signups for solar installations, Wagner said.
“We’re already out six weeks, so even if we had your project approved tomorrow, we’re scheduling you six weeks from today,” Wagner said on Aug. 12, 2024, making the earliest possible date at the time Sept. 12, 2024. “That’s good for the crew; they know where their business is coming from and they’re busy.”
He added that some customers who have been putting off completing their projects are getting more serious as the deadline gets closer: “People have had year-long journeys and all of a sudden, it matters now, and so these year-long journeys are coming to an end this week [and] next week.”
Wagner also clarified that Grid Solar isn’t putting pressure on customers, so much as the changes from Ameren, which Ameren claims are being made due to the state’s Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. However, he did emphasize the need for those interested in going solar to act quickly, as the amount of work they can get done is increasingly limited as it rains and approaches winter.
“[By the] end of this month, I think the promises are going to stop - or they should, anyway,” he said of new solar projects.
As more and more solar projects come forward, Wagner also explained how to navigate what can be a confusing maze of quotes from various companies and more for new customers.
He added while quotes from different solar companies may have the same price on paper, they can have different values in practice, especially when warranties are involved. Grid Solar LLC states that their solar panels and inverters - two major components of the installation - both carry a 25-year manufacturer’s warranty.
“It all comes down to value … so if we’re talking about the exact same price, but 10 years less on the warranty of a major component, to me, that has significant value,” Wagner said. “So they’re not really the same price, are they?”
However, the warranty isn’t all that matters, as Wagner also stressed the importance of high-quality panels, such as those used by Grid Solar.
“You can find two panels, both with 25-year warranties, but the quality is nowhere close to the same,” he said. “You can go to third-party providers for honest reviews, but when it comes to the equipment? Not necessarily.”
To learn more about Grid Solar LLC, visit their website or Facebook page. For even more information and insights, see the full interview with Wagner at the top of this story, on Riverbender.com/video, or on the Riverbender.com Roku TV app.
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