“…in 46 of America’s 50 largest cities, a fully-financed, typically-sized solar PV system (5kW) is a better investment than the stock market, and in 42 of these cities, the same system already costs less than energy from a residential customer’s local utility” according to an analysis by the NC Clean Energy Technology Center of NC State. Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chicago are among the cities. The Going Solar in America study, supported by a USDOE SunShot grant, ICLEI and International City/County Management Association (ICMA), reports that, “of the single-family homeowners in America’s 50 largest cities, …9.1 million already live in a city where solar costs less than their current utility rates if they bought a PV system outright – and nearly 21 million (93% of all estimated single-family homeowners in those cities) do if low-cost financing is available”. Considering forecasts by the US Energy Information Administration, that utility rates will rise between 33%-83% over the 25-year typical life of a solar PV system, the study’s conclusion is that average homeowners can save monthly and enjoy long-term investment value by installing a solar photovoltaic (PV) system. Also, see Utility Dive