What is Community Solar?

Prior to the first community solar program launched in Colorado in 2010, solar energy was only an option for affluent organizations and residents. To be able to install solar on a property, you would have to own the building or land. Additionally, a home or business owner would have to have enough capital or be creditworthy enough to finance the array. Furthermore, even if the funds are available, roof quality, shading from other buildings or trees, or type of roof can disqualify a property from installing a system. These restrictions severely limited the accessibility of solar. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimate that only 50% of rooftops, for both residential and commercial buildings, are suitable for solar arrays. In order for solar to achieve scale, legislators and companies needed to develop a more efficient way of implementing solar. 

In 2010, Colorado did just that, by passing the first of a kind Community Solar Gardens Act, HB 10-1342. The Act would change two significant ways that monopoly or investor-owned utilities (IOU) worked with solar developers. The first change would affect the relationship with the utilities had with their customers. The bill allows third-party solar developers to sell the electricity generated by the solar gardens to anyone who is serviced in the same utility territory. The second change allowed third-party developers to construct solar facilities to generate electricity that connects directly to the utility’s electric grid. The energy produced is on behalf of a conglomerate of residents and organizations that share in the solar output. The legislation was significant and brought several benefits to Colorado. For the utilities, it helps them reach their renewable portfolio standards (RPS) set by local legislation. Also, by diversifying the energy mix with solar, and upgrading the utilities’ grid with interconnection upgrades, community solar developers help build grid reliance. For the local communities in which shared solar exists, it has provided jobs, clean energy, and the environmental benefits associated with a reduction in fossil-fuels, and electrical choice for consumers.

Since the first community solar legislation was passed, 43 states now have at least one community solar project. The market has grown from its first few kilowatts in 2011 to 1.4 gigawatts in 21018 nationally, making it the fastest-growing segment of the solar industry.