The State of Rooftop Solar in WI

Wisconsin Farmers Union hosted a June webinar highlighting the state of rooftop solar in Wisconsin, as well as giving a primer on considerations for rooftop solar on farms and residences in Wisconsin. 

The MREA is located in Custer, WI.

By request of the WFU membership, Corey Ziemann, Solar Program Coordinator for the Midwest Renewable Energy Association provided an overview which is summarized below.

Wisconsin Farmers Union hosted this webinar at the request of our newly formed Energy Committee which is exploring how to support distributed solar energy generation for farmers and rural residents.

If you would like to join the Energy Committee or have further questions on this topic, please contact our Director of Conservation & Stewardship, Tara Greiman

Solar Webinar Recording

Solar Webinar Slides

Solar 101: 

Can the Midwest Produce Solar? Think we’re too far north for solar to work? Germany has the highest amount of solar per capita in the world; they get the equivalent amount of sunshine as Alaska. Even though the Southwest U.S. gets more sunshine, panels in the Midwest are more efficient because the cooler weather allows the panels to function at a higher output. Panels perform at peak efficiency when it’s 60 degrees and sunny.

kWh vs kW: A report of your kilowatt hour (kWh) usage is what shows on your energy bill. It's the amount of energy you used. Kilowatts (kW) is a description of the potential capacity of the production unit in a year. 

System Design: Solar systems are more than just the panels, they require an inverter (the “heart of the system”) and connection to the power use source or grid or battery setup. 

Solar System Lifespan & Contending with Weather: After 25 years, panels still produce at over 90% capacity. If you need to replace the roof there can be prohibitively high costs for removing the panels and reinstalling them after. One member noted that they circumvented this issue by removing the panels and reinstalling themselves.

Snow almost always melts off within 1 day for roofs with a higher pitch. Some owners do get a rubber roof rake to remove snow. If it is a low roof pitch this may be necessary unless any amount of the panel is exposed to the sun. 

Tier one panels (which are the standard) are very durable to hail. Corey noted that they field-checked the panel performance by calling installers after a hail storm in 2024. They reported that none of their systems installed in the area of the hail had any damage to the panels, although some panels had to be removed in order to fix the roofs that were damaged by hail. 

Home Values: Research has shown that homes with solar often sell faster and for 6.8% higher than comparable homes. There is no taxation increase for solar installations on residences. Homeowners do have to consider increasing their insurance protection to cover their solar systems. 

Working with Utilities

Considering battery systems can double the price of a solar installation, so understanding how your utility will bill/credit your system’s energy production is an important consideration. Utilities around Wisconsin vary in their net metering policies. But in general,  you may expect to get a retail rate for energy you consume at your residence/farm and receive a wholesale rate for any excess energy your system provided back to the grid.

Because producing excess electricity is not as lucrative, it is usually considered most financially feasible to install a “right-sized” system which produces about 90% of the electrical demand of the household. 

It is important to know, if you’re grid tied, when the power goes out on the grid, you’ll still be out of power. Some people choose to purchase a battery to circumvent this concern and decrease grid dependence.

State & Federal Policy

Federal Policy: The federal solar tax credit is a 30% credit which can include costs of extra bolstering expenditures and battery systems. Set to end at the end of the year or 180 days after passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill. 

State Policy: Wisconsin also has a Focus on Energy program that offers tax rebates for renewable energy production or energy efficiency programs. Farms can also qualify for Direct Pay programs but this program may fall away as the federal government dismantles the IRA. 

Illinois has a Solar Renewable Energy Credit Program (SREC) wherein the state will pay people for adding green power to the grid through a credit system. Corey noted that he would like to see Wisconsin incentivizing folks this way to pay them for production. 

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Wisconsin Farmers Union Policy

WFU advocates for small and mid-size farmers and rural communities. Our policy book is created by our members and outlines the position of the organization on many topics. Distributed renewable energy generation is supported by our membership:

“Wisconsin Farmers Union supports a program administered by the Public Service Commission that will set utility payment rates for small renewable energy producers who want to create and feed energy into the electric grid. By establishing known buyback rates, it encourages distributed generation of renewable energy and enables farmers, small businesses, homeowners, churches, and others to install renewable energy systems.

Wisconsin Farmers Union supports increasing the statewide feed-in tariff/net metering to cover systems up to 40 kilowatts, so that owners of such systems will have the assurance that they will be paid at the retail rate, on a monthly basis, for energy produced over and above what is used by their household, business, or farm.

Wisconsin Farmers Union opposes raising the connection rates for public utilities to acquire electricity from individual homeowners and farmers beyond the present levels, and in fact in some cases advocates lowering these rates and costs which exceed the actual cost of connection equipment.”

A comprehensive understanding of WFU’s policy can be found in our 2025 Policy Book.