Couple’s gift will make Attic Angel community a model for renewable energy in Wisconsin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Barrett Lione-Seaton
Midwest Solar Power
barrett@mwsolarpower.com
608-354-2063 ext. 3
 

MADISON – Thanks to a half-million dollar donation from Attic Angel Prairie Point (AAPP)
residents John and Margo Hansen, all 123 homes in the senior living community on Madison’s
far west side will eventually be powered completely or in part by renewable solar energy,
installed by Midwest Solar Power of Madison.

Attic Angel, known for providing high-quality independent and assisted living home options and services for older adults, was already a solar leader. According to Attic Angel Community Housing Manager Janelle Taylor, a group of AAPP residents expressed interest in solar installations for their ranch-style homes in 2018. Eventually they arranged for and financed these installations themselves. 

“I’m not sure that group of residents knew it at the time, but they created a snowball effect, inspiring others to research and adopt various sustainability practices. They even inspired the installation of solar panels on Attic Angel Place (assisted living and memory care).”

Another round of resident-driven installations occurred in 2022. It was in that year John and Margo moved to Prairie Point. Within months, the couple had 26 solar panels installed on their own residence. The array supplies all their household electrical needs and fully powers their two electric cars.

Currently a total of 46 AAPP units, including the community’s model home, are solar equipped. The Hansens’ gift, now part of the Margo J Hansen Solar Fund, will allow for another 20 to 30 solar installations. Eventually, all 77 remaining AAPP homes will receive solar. 

Attic Angel Prairie Point will be reimbursed for 30 percent of project costs under the Inflation Reduction Act, allowing for another $150,000 worth of installations. When a solar-equipped Prairie Point unit is vacated and re-leased, AAPP will contribute 50 percent of the cost back into the MJH Solar Fund, according to Taylor. Together it will be enough to power all 123 Prairie Point units completely or in part with clean solar energy within the next several years.

Midwest Solar Power was the contractor chosen to complete the project. The Madison-based company has specialized in turnkey residential and commercial solar installations in south central Wisconsin since 2009 and prides itself on high-quality, long-lasting work. Midwest Solar Power has already completed several installations for the AAPP project and more are ongoing. 

Margo and John Hansen’s interest in the environment dates to the 1960s, when John took a between-terms college course on environmental preservation. During the 1970s energy crisis, Margo’s father built his own 20-foot-high solar panels. Both John and Margo enjoyed professional callings in health care; now in their golden years, their focus is on the health of the planet. 

“Our vision is that the Prairie Point community will be a model for Wisconsin,” says John.

Midwest Solar Power estimates that residents of the 77 remaining AAPP homes will collectively save over $50,000 per year in energy costs and keep 162 metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide pollution out of the atmosphere. That equates to almost one railcar worth of burned coal per year, or the amount of carbon that 200 acres of forest sequesters annually.