Taking part in a community solar project is one of the most accessible ways for people to support clean energy and save money. Essentially, you buy shares in the solar farm, resulting in credits on your electricity bills.
Communities that subscribe to community solar are stronger together. It includes low-income families living in affordable multifamily housing.
Save Money
Many households in the United States need access to rooftop solar energy due to the high upfront costs or because they limit family buildings or apartment complexes that do not allow rooftop installations. Community solar provides households an alternative way to save money on electricity bills.
Under a subscription-based model, participants buy a certain number of panels or a share in a project and receive electric bill credits for the power their investment produces. It allows everyone, including renters and those in condos or co-ops, to participate in the clean energy revolution, especially since community solar projects typically don’t require any installation on homes or roofs.
In addition to financial benefits, community solar subscribers may also receive valuable education and training opportunities. To ensure that all participants, regardless of their economic status, can reap the full benefits of community solar, many projects offer a guaranteed savings rate for all subscribers. This guarantee can be incorporated into the subscriber contract and may be based on average monthly or annual energy savings.
Some community solar programs have even gone as far as to translate the percentage of bill savings into an average dollar amount that would be saved on monthly or annual energy bills, which helps subscribers better understand the value of their subscriptions and plan for future household expenses.
Support the Local Economy
Like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), community solar allows locals to share in the cost of locally produced, clean energy. Community solar operates in a comparable way to rooftop solar. Individuals choose to participate in the project and receive credits on their electricity bill for every kilowatt-hour the project generates. Additionally, to provide cost savings and environmental benefits, community solar projects generate local employment opportunities during installation and ongoing maintenance.
As an added benefit, community-based projects can also help make the electric grid more resilient. By distributing power generation across a larger area, community solar helps avoid lengthy and expensive power outages in an emergency or natural disaster.
The economic boost generated by community solar also provides an essential tool for communities to build resilience in the face of broader challenges such as poverty and climate change. Organizations developing community solar should prioritize outreach and education that is accessible to all members of a neighborhood. It includes prioritizing early and clear communication and offering educational events and materials in the languages most frequently spoken by community members.
In addition, community solar programs should offer flexible financing to accommodate households with varying incomes and the ability to afford community solar, including options for financing or leasing. This flexibility can be vital in enabling the participation of LMI households. To ensure equitable community solar, projects recognized by NCSP must provide a minimum of 40% of their residential capacity for LMI households.
Help the Environment
In addition to providing environmental benefits, community solar allows those who cannot install rooftop panels access clean energy due to living circumstances or financial constraints. It helps expand the renewable energy revolution, accelerate the transition to a more sustainable world, and address climate change.
Participants in community solar do not own a single solar panel; instead, they subscribe to the overall capacity of the solar array or “solar garden” and receive electric bill credits or savings equal to the power the system produces. Some programs offer ownership models that allow participants to become part-owners of several solar panels within the solar garden.
By reducing carbon emissions, community solar projects help to conserve natural resources, preserve ecosystems, improve air quality, and promote water conservation. These projects also reduce the need for traditional fossil fuel-powered power plants, which produce harmful emissions and often contaminate local environments.
Additionally, community solar with battery energy storage (community solar + storage) can power community centers or other resiliency hubs during outages, strengthening neighbors’ ability to weather extreme weather events and reducing the need for costly government intervention. Developing authentic working relationships with community members early in the design process and giving them a voice in program decisions can further legitimize and bolster these investments in communities.
Build Community
A community solar project brings together neighbors to support an energy solution that’s good for the local environment and economy. It’s a way for households to benefit from solar cost savings and sustainability without the upfront costs or rooftop limitations associated with traditional rooftop systems. Community solar also fosters resilience during blackouts and weather events, promotes community wealth-building, and supports local job creation.
To be effective, developers of community solar projects must prioritize community engagement and education. These efforts help communities understand the project’s benefits, including the impact it will have on their lives. Communicating these benefits in the languages spoken by community members is essential. It helps build trust. It’s also helpful to work with community partners such as nonprofit organizations, houses of worship or faith-based groups, educational institutions, tenant associations, social service providers, and government agencies to conduct outreach and education.
Community solar is already helping people power their homes through renewable energy, and this growing movement can only continue to strengthen neighborhood bonds. It’s an opportunity to bring the benefits of solar to all and accelerate our collective push toward a sustainable future.