Third-party solar financing grows in Wisconsin, despite legal uncertainty

he Willy Street Co-op natural foods grocery store in Madison is a place where some people come three times a day to eat, shop or just hang out listening to musicians who play outside. The co-op’s mission is to be environmentally and socially sustainable, so generating power with rooftop solar was a no-brainer.

But after the cooperative’s small solar installation was damaged during a storm three years ago, members worried about how they would afford a new array...

...Third-party ownership is when an entity other than the host owns or co-owns the solar installation. Such arrangements are especially important for nonprofit institutions like churches and schools that can’t otherwise use tax credits to help cover the up-front cost of solar...

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Ken Notes: Wouldn`t be nice if the third party owners were the utilities themselves. They could compete with others on a level playing field and we would see the program explode. I worry about asking the PSC or legislators for a ruling now because the lobby money is on the side of the utilities and currently some do not want third-party ownership. P.S. I have 600 feet of due south 7/12 steel roofing in Albany Wisconsin available....