Solar group-buy program reports 34 Kane County installs; organizers set 2025 cohorts and $150 refundable deposit

Marina Minnick, a representative of the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), told the King County Energy and Environmental Committee on Jan. 17 that the Solar Switch Chicagoland group-buy program produced 34 completed installations in Kane County across three program cycles and 20 additional projects either signed or awaiting installation this past summer.

Nut graf: The program, run by CUB with partners including the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) and iChooser, aims to lower costs and increase consumer protections for residential solar by pre-vetting multiple installers, setting a standardized base rate and channeling customers to installers after a refundable $150 deposit. Organizers say the model has delivered prices 14% to 20% below local market averages in prior Chicagoland cycles.

Marina Minnick, CUB representative, said the program "is a solar program that kind of was created to help regular people go solar in a way that [is] easier and more affordable and also has more consumer protections involved." She told the committee the program is officially partnered with Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake and Kane counties and also serves McHenry and Kendall counties.

Program results presented to the committee noted: 15 contracts signed and awaiting installation and five projects already installed in the most recent summer cohort (20 total for that cycle); cumulative Kane County completions across three cohorts totaled 34 installs. Across all participating counties, organizers reported 262 completed installations and 308 planned as of the most recent program run.

How it works: Residents register on the program website and receive a personal, preliminary system and price estimate that reflects available federal and state incentives. If the resident accepts, they pay a refundable $150 decision deposit and are connected with a pre-vetted installer. Minnick said the deposit reduced low-probability leads and installer workload. She described the installer selection as a multi-installer auction process where installers submit price-per-kilowatt bids; iChooser and MREA help converge on a base rate.

Committee member Austin, staff member, cited IRS data showing about 32,000 Illinois taxpayers claimed the federal residential solar tax credit in 2023, "and on average, they saved around a little over $5,000 on their tax return" for that credit.

Incentives and standards: Minnick told the committee the program factors the federal tax credit and Illinois incentives (Illinois Shines) into cost estimates. She said installers chosen for the program must meet quality standards and use panels on a recognized industry list ("Bloomberg tier 1" was cited in committee discussion) so that modules meet a baseline of long-term reliability.

Changes and schedule: Organizers plan to rebrand from Solar Switch Chicagoland to Switch Together Solar Chicagoland to make it simpler to add other bundled products such as heat-pump group buys. For 2025 the program will run two recruiting cohorts: a spring push beginning March 26 with a decision deadline of June 11, and a fall cohort with a decision deadline of Oct. 8.

Costs and consumer protections: Minnick said installers participating in the program typically pay an administrative fee to participate; installers gain marketing and lead benefits in exchange and are expected to offer group-buy pricing. The program requires installers to provide final proposals after site evaluation; Minnick said the preliminary offers are conservative to reduce the risk of a large price increase after a full site review.

Why it matters: Committee members and the presenter said the program can make residential solar more affordable and easier to find reputable installers, and that adding electrification products could help residents access new federal and state incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act and Illinois rebate programs.

Ending: Minnick said contact information and the presentation would be shared with committee members and encouraged board members to refer constituents to the program website for education and sign-ups.