WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsMGE ranks nationally for solar installations

MGE ranks nationally for solar installations

MADISON (WKOW) -- Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) ranks eighth out of 92 U.S. utilities for new solar power additions supplying the grid. In the Central U.S. region, MGE ranks second for total solar watts of power per customer.

The rankings are part of an annual survey by the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA), which is made up of 560 utilities and solar industry members.

MGE recently increased the capacity of its Clean Power Partners solar energy program. The program grew to one megawatt from 150 kilowatts in 2008. Clean Power Partners encourages customers to install solar systems on their homes or businesses and then sell the energy back to MGE. The solar energy is part of the company's green pricing program, Green Power Tomorrow.

"The combination of better technology and lower costs is making clean, renewable solar energy more attractive for our customers," said Greg Bollom, assistant vice president - Energy Planning. "MGE also has a number of solar demonstration projects in the community for customers to see how these technologies can be part of our energy supply mix," Bollom added.

You can see a complete list of SEPA's rankings by clicking here.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewal Energy Laboratory, MGE's Green Power Tomorrow program has the second highest participation rate of all investor-owned utilities in the nation.