Learn more about having solar installed in your home or business, or about replicating Milwaukee Shines' processes and projects in your municipality:
Solar projects have helped reduce energy consumption in City of Milwaukee facilities like libraries and fire stations and in commercial corridors, schools, businesses, and homes.
As of December 2021, there are more than 10.22 megawatts of solar energy installed on Milwaukee homes and businesses. By now, the City's goal of 1 megawatt of solar capacity has far been exceeded.
Learn more about solar projects being installed across Milwaukee.
The U.S. Department of Energy has recognized Milwaukee as a national leader in advancing solar energy with a Gold designation through its SolSmart program. Milwaukee was one of the first 13 cities in the U.S. to receive the Gold designation.
Milwaukee was awarded for adopting programs and practices that make it faster, easier, and cheaper to go solar. A SolSmart designation is a signal that Milwaukee is “open for solar business,” helping to attract solar industry investment and generate economic development and local jobs.
To achieve the designation, Milwaukee has taken steps to reduce solar soft costs, which are non-hardware costs that can increase the time and money it takes to install a solar energy system. These include: planning and zoning, permitting, financing, customer acquisition, and installation labor. Soft costs represent about two-thirds of the total price of an installed residential system.