The Illinois flag has the sun shining brightly on the horizon. If that’s not a sign to get solar in Prairie State, we don’t know what is! If you decide to go solar in Illinois, you are in good company. Over 54,600 homeowners have already gone solar. In fact, Illinois is requiring 25% of their energy be solar by 2025. By going solar, you contribute to sustainability efforts and possibly save some money while you’re at it!  

Illinois homeowners may benefit from the solar energy system property tax exemption. This means that the value you add to your home by installing solar panels, home batteries, or smart home energy controllers won’t add to your property tax assessment. Many Illinois utility companies also offer “net metering,” which pays residential solar owners back when they deliver excess energy to the grid. For example, customers of Commonwealth Edison, the Ameren Illinois Utilities, and MidAmerican Energy Company are eligible for a one-to-one retail rate credit for applicable systems. Illinois also offers Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs), which are awarded for every megawatt-hour of electricity generated by a home solar system. These credits can be sold directly to one of the three Illinois Investor-owned utilities (ComEd, Ameren or MidAmerican).

Illinois homeowners are also eligible for the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The ITC allows you to deduct 26 percent of the cost of installing a solar energy system from your federal taxes.