Accessibility of solar panels

Jonathan Schnute et al.
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:10:00 PDT

We started this project because we wanted to help families who have trouble paying for electricity. By helping them access small-scale solar panels they can put on their roofs for low costs, more families will be able to have electricity in their households. There will also be positive impacts regarding climate change. Since energy gained from solar panels is renewable energy, it is clean and will result in fewer CO2 emissions. The bill will be split up into 4 distinct sections. Each section will have a different focus, with our first section being on tax brackets, and how they will decide if you’re eligible for the benefits, and what reduction rate you will get (Benefits and reduction rate are down below). Our next section in this bill will be about how we will achieve this goal in the first place. Our main plan will be to team up with the Department of Energy (DOE) to provide grant money to families buying solar panels to install the panels on their roofs. We will also try to partner with energy companies such as the Illinois Solar Program (ISP) to help reach out to as many people as possible. Our 3rd section will be to prevent Home Owner Associations from banning them so that all people can have access to solar panels without restrictions. Our fourth and final section will be on surplus energy. Any surplus energy that the solar panels create will be bought at a set rate. Initially, it will be used to help pay off costs from the solar panels, and over time, it may just be given to the homeowner. There will also be advertisements run that tell people they can apply to get solar panels for as much as 75% reduced cost.