Case Study: Woodridge School District

Woodridge School District has seven schools, all of which will soon be solar-powered. The district’s Assistant Superintendent for Business Services, Curtis Saindon, has been active in not only moving these projects forward, but also in obtaining the state and federal incentives that he describes as “a Godsend for us in Woodridge.” The district installed solar on four of the schools in early 2024 and, thanks to Elective Pay, received federal tax credits totaling $1.038 million in December 2024. Elective Pay is the new mechanism by which tax-exempt entities, like public school districts, can access federal tax credits for clean energy investments.

Woodridge School District worked with their auditor to file a tax return for the first time and claim these credits. They now plan to do the same in 2026 for the remaining three schools and expect to receive another $1 million in reimbursements. Woodridge is also making use of the Illinois Power Agency’s Illinois Shines program and will receive renewable energy credits for six years. The combination of state and federal incentives reduced the payback period for the projects to about seven years and, overall, the district’s electric bills will be cut by 95%.

Mr. Saindon said that these factors “made putting solar arrays on all of our roofs not only financially feasible, but a future source of positive cash flows.”