Alliant Energy donates community solar for local Habitat for Humanity families

The rise of solar energy is good not only for the environment and the economy, but also for communities.

In Wisconsin, Alliant Energy has donated $90,000 in community solar blocks to the Habitat for Humanity of Fond du Lac County. The donation, totaling 240 blocks from the utility’s 1 MW Fond du Lac project, will aid local families.

Katie Karls, executive director of the region’s nonprofit housing group, said the organization plans to use the solar blocks to “reduce the electric bills for people living in our Habitat homes, which will really help out the residents with their monthly budgets and give them more dollars to provide for their families.”

Alliant Energy launched the Fond du Lac community solar project in early December. The company expects to start construction on the project this spring and complete it by year’s end.

The community solar program gives the utility’s Wisconsin customers the chance to share the benefits of solar power without having to install solar panels on their property.

When customers purchase solar blocks, they’ll receive credits on their monthly electric bills. The credits will begin once the facility is in service and last for 20 years.

So far, more than one-fifth of the project’s blocks have been purchased or donated.

According to Alliant Energy, the community solar program is part of the utility’s Clean Energy Vision and helps position the company to achieve its goal to attain net-zero carbon-dioxide emissions by 2050.

Utilities, municipalities, and other parties across the United States are increasingly embracing community solar.