Solar Power in Illinois

The price of solar panels has fallen in recent years, but installation is still expensive and time intensive. Despite the cost, the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana is in the process of finalizing plans to build a 20 acre solar farm on campus, and some residents of downstate Illinois are starting to feed power into the grid with solar panels installed on their homes.

This hour on Focus, host Craig Cohen talks with Ty Newell who powers his home and solar energy engineering business in Urbana with solar power. Nick Hylia of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association also joins the show to talk about how solar power is being used in the Midwest and what subsidies and grants are available for Illinois residents thinking about installing solar panels. We’ll also talk about the US Department of Energy’s new SunSpot Initiative that promises $29 million dollars for solar energy research and development.