What is Community Solar ? This is a program which harnesses New York State regulations incentivizing the development of solar energy on the land of farmers in your community.
It provides renters, home owners, low-income residents, schools and small businesses access to solar energy without the hassles of solar panels or having to deal with tax credits. In addition, participants receive an incentive in the form of reductions on their utility bills, which can be as high as 10%.
There is no switching of energy suppliers in this program. One continues to receive electricity from their existing utility.
What is the Problem Community Solar Solves ?
There are a lot of goals related to carbon neutrality. Most of them won't be achieved. That is, unless more people are involved.
The New York State Climate Plan, for example, calls for 100% of the state's electricity to come from renewable resources by 2049. Likewise, Cornell University's Climate Action Plan sets the goal of achieving carbon neutrality on campus by 2035.
The problem is that industries, universities and homes using clean energy won’t get us to these goals. We need to do more. In particular, we need to involve the millions of Americans who live in apartments or in homes which can't access renewable energy. One way to bring in these individuals is to incentivize a system which allows for the generation of solar energy without having to put up solar panels or dealing with tax credits.
This incentivization in New York State is provided by regulations creating Community Solar.
New York State’s Innovative Regulatory Framework
New York State is a regulatory leader in developing the economic incentives and regulations facilitating Community Solar.
On July 17, 2015 the State of New York Public Service Commission issued an order establishing a “Community Distributed Generation Program.” This set out the regulatory framework for Community Solar in New York State.
These rules set the requirements for utilities in New York to purchase electricity from local solar farms and for the tax credits which would subsidize the program. It also set the parameters for passing on the value of the tax credits to renters, home owners and small businesses.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a very authoritative source of information on the subject. Their website covers many aspects of Community Solar in great detail.
Another credible source is the Community Solar section of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) website. It explains the concept in simple terms as well as providing facts and related news.
How Does Community Solar Work ?
Here's a less than 2 minute video from NYSERDA which explains the concept of Community Solar in simple terms.
Local farmers put solar panels on their property. The electricity generated from these solar panels get sold into the utility grid. You have a membership subscription to the solar energy produced by the solar farm.
Your local utility (e.g. NYSEG for Ithaca, NY) delivers power to your home or apartment just like now. However, the utility reduces your electricity bill by the amount of solar energy (“solar credits”) you are entitled from your membership subscription to the solar farm. In addition, you get a discount on the price of the solar energy you consume. This discount varies but we have a partnership with a network of solar farms in New York State which provides a 10% discount.
Let's take an example. Assume your home electricity consumption is 10,000 kwh (kilowatt hour) per month. If you qualify for receiving solar energy for 90% of your consumption, then you would get a 10% discount on what you are currently paying for 9,000 kwh per month.
Where does the 10% discount come from ? Your utility gets tax credits for buying solar energy from the solar farm. Subscribers to the solar farm receive part of the tax credit through a 10% discount on the utility bill, for the power generated by the solar farm.
How Do I Participate in Community Solar Farming ?
In many ways Community Solar is like a co-op. It’s a way for a community to generate its own energy. Not to mention keep the payments for that energy local.
To keep it local, New York State’s regulations require that each Solar Farm have a capacity no greater than 5 MW. That translates roughly to 360 homes. In other words Solar Farm subscriptions are hard to come by. Capacity runs out quickly.
To add capacity to the system we’ve partnered with a major player in the industry: Ampion Renewable Energy. In the spirit of a co-op, it is incorporated as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC).
This is a special category of company the primary purpose of which is the furtherance of a social or environmental cause; even when the cause is at the expense of maximizing profits for shareholders. In Ampion’s case that singular cause is providing access to clean, renewable, energy.
If you're interested in exploring whether Community Solar makes sense for you, what are the next steps ? First, check availability in your neighborhood. Second, apply for a subscription. Third, if you qualify you’ll be told how much of your bill qualifies for the 10% savings, based on usage statistics on your current utility bill. Fourth, you’ll be assigned a Solar Farm.
You can do that all by selecting this button:
A number of the members in our Community Solar Farms ask some tough questions. You can find answers to these questions on our post titled 13 Tough Frequently Asked Questions About Community Solar Farms.
the neat part is that I can participate even though i live in an apartment.
You are correct ! If we’re going to achieve the carbon reduction goals set by many universities and other institutions, we need to include a significantly larger segment of the population. This includes apartment dwellers like you.
I signed up through the link and it was really easy. Thank you so much for the info !
Thanks for sharing your feedback. We’ve been told by many applicants that the online sign up process takes less than 5 minutes.
What are the risks of the program ?
The main risk is that you may save less than expected. For example, if the solar energy produced by your solar farm is less in the winter you will receive less savings than the summer.
What am I getting into ?
You are not getting into any long-term commitment and can cancel any time with no penalty (with 90 days notice).
What you are getting into is a subscription with a local community solar farm, not an energy company. Ampion, which handles the billing, is a Public Benefit Corporation not a for-profit corporation.
why should I trust you ?
Great question ! We get this question a lot, especially from Professors. You can get a more detailed answer in our FAQ section of this blog. However, here’s the gist.
1) Community Solar Farming has nothing to do with Energy Service Companies (ESCOs), which have received a bad reputation. In Community Solar Farming you have a subscription directly with the solar farm. There is no energy company involved. Our partner, Ampion Renewable Energy, is a billing company not an energy company.
2) Ampion is a Public Benefit Corporation. That means that by charter they prioritize furthering an environmental cause as much as profitability.
3) You receive your credits on the utility bill of your current utility. They would not be partnering with Ampion if they hadn’t gone through a rigorous vetting process.
There are of course other reasons but those are the main ones.