WHY SOLAR? WHY NOW?
Solar in effect, let’s you “own” your utilities, instead of the utility “owning” you. You may have noticed more and more neighbors and businesses installing solar panels on their rooftops. The number one reason people choose solar power for their home or business is that it saves them money.
This is especially important to those wanting to reduce their monthly recurring (and increasing) bills. Ask yourself, “How much do I pay for electricity?” For many people, it’s the second largest expense right after their mortgage.
Now, think about your monthly bills – do you think a higher electricity bill is in your future? (Hint: Ameren Mission had a 10% rate increase in 2013. On average, the energy inflation rate over the past 5 years is 7.2%).
At the same time, the cost for getting solar panels installed has gone way DOWN. The average cost of a PV module has fallen 80% over the last 5 years.
Solar is one of the smartest improvements a homeowner can make, as no other’s primary purpose is to dramatically lower monthly expenses.
If your average electric bill is $150 a month, over the next 12 years you’ll pay approximately $28,000 to your electric company!
Imagine fixing the cost of your electric bill forever. To get you started immediately, please FILL OUT THIS FORM.
It’s a reality now, thanks to solar financing options. There are multiple, affordable financing options now available to homeowners. That’s the reason more and more people are “going solar”. People who understand finance look at their return on investment (ROI) and see that their savings add up to as much as 15% return over time. In many cases more than they could have earned with mutual funds, CDs, bonds or any other investment vehicles.
Solar comes with a 25 year production guarantee, is maintenance-free, and if you have the space – can eliminate all the kilowatt hour charges on your bill… even those generated a night.
The 30% federal tax credit (refund) available on the full price of any grid-tied system, makes the purchase that much easier, but is also slated to expire in December 2016.
To get you started immediately, please fill out this form. We’ll give you a call to discuss how solar might work in your situation, including if your location is suitable for solar, what size system would be best for your needs, and general pricing.
Then we’ll also ask a few and if we can meet your needs schedule a skilled and experienced solar project developer to come to your site. At your property, we will complete a one-hour evaluation, then talk about equipment choices and present a customized proposal (bid) while there or within 1- 2 business days!
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT STRAIGHTUP SOLAR
STRAIGHTUP SOLAR NOW OFFERS “SUS+” SERVICES
So you decided to be a pioneering paradigm shifter a few years ago by being the first kid on your block to install solar. Some people thought you were crazy, but you knew you were the smart one, and today each time the sun shines on your patch of silicon you’re smiling from ear-to-ear as you watch more of your neighbors following your early adopter lead.
Want to know how to further inspire a solar Tribe to create a sustainable world? Check out the StraightUp Solar’s new set of solar benefit-enhancing services we call “StraightUp Solar Plus” or just “SUS+” for short.
Once we mastered the art of how to catch all those free little photons, it just seemed obvious we should next work on how to best put them to work for creating a sustainable world. Turns out, the answer is pretty “StraightUp”-so now we’re starting to think more like a “photon and electron management company.”
We’ve done the math and it turns out you can drive a solar electric vehicle today for about 2 cents a mile. Don’t believe us? We personally and your fellow SUS tribes folk are already doing it, and we believe it so strongly we now offer a free Schneider Electric Level 2 EV charger with any new 5+ kW system. Want us to add one to your current array? $1,099 gets you there plus you can also apply a 30% Federal Tax Credit.
With technology improving and prices dropping rapidly, it also makes great sense for building owners to consider efficient LED lighting retrofits and energy storage systems-with or without a solar array (but we still like solar-powered buildings the best)! We can easily make those things happen now. Contact john@straightupsolar.com and he can tell you how.
DR. DANE GLUECK REFLECTS AFTER FINISHING HIS SECOND TERM AS MOSEIA PRESIDENT
Advocate Always – Four Years of Service and a Path Forward
For the last four years I’ve held the title of President of the Missouri Solar Energy Industries Association (MOSEIA); and I’ve held the burden and the gift that comes with the title. As an industry, we weathered many storms. I’ve been fortunate to be at the helm and work alongside other motivated and generous friends and colleagues as we’ve navigated turbulent times. Regardless of the title, I welcomed the work. I’m better for it, and I hope MOSEIA is as well. Now, MOSEIA has a great new board and I will happily shift to a more supportive role that allows more focus on StraightUp Solar.
As an industry we’ve grown and matured immensely in these four years… READ MORE. The Ameren Missouri solar rebate that kick-started the industry is gone for now, but we haven’t lost the reason we started our work in solar. We started to expand Missouri’s energy options to include clean power that benefits us all. We started because we believed having a choice for that clean power. We started so that we could grow jobs, companies, and friendships. We’ve done that – and now we look toward the next level of sustainability that only a collection of believers can provide.
At StraightUp Solar we call that collection of believers a Tribe. I love our Tribe – the people that have chosen us to work with them as they fulfill their choice for solar power. I love our Team – the people of StraightUp that work daily to fulfill our promises to the Tribe. We work hard to uphold our promises through our CLEARE Values: Community First, Leadership, Educate, Advocate Always, Respect and Excellence.
As we all look forward, our belief in what solar means (a choice, a sustainable world, self-powered energy security) is even stronger than before. I’m proud that our team of leaders at StraightUp will continue to Advocate Always through industry associations. Shannon Fulton, Director of IL Business Development, will continue on in her role as President of the Illinois Solar Energy Association. Erin Noble, Director of Staff, will help lead MOSEIA as a newly-elected board member. Congratulations and much appreciation to them both.
After seven years leading StraightUp and four years leading MOSEIA, I’m even more hopeful than before. I believe in our cause, in our Team, and our Tribe. It’s a good time to be in solar.
– Dane
SUS’s SHANNON FULTON TRAVELS TO UGANDA WITH CNN HERO ORGANIZATION, “WE CARE SOLAR”
Shannon Fulton, SUS’s Director of Illinois Business Development, returned last month from Uganda where she served as a WE CARE Solar Ambassador training local health facility staff on the installation, use, and maintenance of WE CARE’s Solar Suitcase. WE CARE stands for Women’s Emergency Communication and Reliable Electricity and provides an innovative solar solution designed to provide lighting and enable communication to save the lives of mothers and babies during childbirth.
Having previously traveled to Eritrea as a Solar Suitcase Ambassador, Fulton’s role on this trip was to train approximately 30 local health inspectors and cold chain technicians how to install, use, and maintain the Solar Suitcase systems…READ MORE The Solar Suitcase systems incorporated special components for this area of Uganda to accommodate Uganda’s reduced solar resource due to its elevation and misty microclimate.
Following two weeks of Solar Suitcase teaching and installation, the students were well prepared to carry-out the remaining installations on their own and understood well how to teach health centers staffs about the use and maintenance of the systems.
“It feels great to know that after we leave woman no longer have to give birth by the light of a cell phone or a kerosene lamp. Solar saves lives,” says Fulton. She is also proud that WE CARE recognizes technology transfer alone is not enough and reports “From the very beginning, health worker training was an important focus of WE CARE Solar programs. Not only are installers and health center workers trained to improve the health center conditions and ultimately reduce infant and mother mortality, but the children and community members are often at the same time receiving their very first electricity education. How wonderful that their first experience with electricity is a solar-powered one!”
Read more about Shannon’s trip: https://www.facebook.
