Article originally published by Milwaukee Business News
By this summer, families will be moving in to a New Berlin subdivision where solar panels are not only allowed, but mandatory. . . The project will be the first of its kind in the state and has been a dream for Matt Neumann, chief executive officer of Neumann Cos., since he founded SunVest Solar Inc. in 2009 and began experimenting with the idea of a net zero home.
The hesitation was affordability, Neumann said. But what used to cost upward of $75,000 per house to add solar panels can now be done for about $12,000 to $15,000 per house. That added cost can result in a higher mortgage payment of about $50 per month, but the savings in energy costs for the homeowners are expected to be about $100 per month, Neumann said. . . (Also see Jan 2018 EOW News)
Over the past year, solar has expanded across the state as homeowners and business executives have begun to calculate the long-term cost savings. When factoring in the state and federal incentives available, adding solar to the roof last fall made sense for the partners at Ryan Kromholz & Manion SC…[that] completed an installation of 188 solar panels… in the Gateway West Commerce Center business park. “We estimate that we will pay (the cost to install the panels) back in less than four years,” Zdroik, illustrator and facility manager at RKM, said. RKM is the third building in the Brookfield business park to add solar panels.